Chuck vs The Forgotten Life
by read7585
Summary: This is the sequel to my first story, Chuck vs The Incinerator. Chuck has forgotten everyone and everything in his life. Nearing the end, I hope you still like it.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Chuck or anybody else in the Chuck world; I only got some clothes and a poster for Christmas. If anyone else got Chuck I'd be willing to trade. I also got a giant Toblerone!**

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this posted. I could give lame excuses like, I was busy, I was tired, I had writers block but I'm going to put the blame squarely where it belongs. It's all the wonderful writers on this site and they wrote so many great stories that I had to read them and it threw off my schedule.**

**I have to express my gratitude to Enigmamdw for the beta and DLK and jagged1 for the guidance, support and ability to make sense of my ideas. If you like this in any small part it's because of all of them and if you don't it's because I didn't listen to them enough.**

Xxx

Chuck vs. the Forgotten Life

Xxx

Chapter 1

Xxx

Hi I'm …, wait I'm not sure who I am but here are some things you might need to know. Oh; I'm not sure what you might need to know. I only know what a tiny woman named General Beckman has told me. You'll have to go back and read the first part of this story 'Chuck vs. the Incinerator'. Yeah that's a good place to find out.

Xxx

General Beckman had her technician's busy working on the new upgrade. Ever since she was sure Bartowski would survive she'd had her horde of scientists working overtime attempting to get the new Intersect up and running. The new Intersect when it worked properly was capable of resetting the Intersect without flooding the carrier with memories of his past life, since Beckman would prefer that all of those be blocked along with certain other information regarding previous partners. Especially those of Agent Sarah Walker, he had deep feelings for her if his ramblings in his sleep at the rehab center were any indication. This was a daunting task as so many images were interwoven with others. They only had three days to finish before implementation. After the painstaking process of removing the old ones it was easy weaving his false life in after the fact.

They'd warned her that something on this scale, and so far from the path of reasonable and decent science, could severely impair the Intersect; Beckman had waved off the warning as the same scientist prattle as she always heard before a risky procedure, this was a risk she was willing to take.

They couldn't wait any longer, when a couple of minor memories had surfaced at the rehab clinic Doctor Waters had tried the flash cards but they didn't work anymore. The triggers would have to be reset too.

Xxx

"So doctor, will the upgrade be ready in time?" Beckman questioned.

"General, again I must emphasize this could be very dangerous." Waters countered. "The new Intersect hasn't been fully tested and we really have no idea how it will affect him."

"What exactly are you saying?"

"I'm saying once the new Intersect is implanted and we initialize the behavior modifier and the memory shunts. I just don't know how he will react." Waters reasoned.

"Will it work?" Beckman demanded.

"Yes, it will work but we're not sure how long we'll be able to control him. He could go rogue at any time. The margin of error is extremely small. One memory links up and he's going to turn, that brain is just too fast to anticipate." Waters added.

"If we're able to keep him under our control, will he be able to operate as a fully trained agent?"

"I've studied his file and he's played video games most of his life and is extremely gifted at them. This will help in his adaptation of 'hand and eye coordination'. I don't foresee a problem with weapons, he has already proven that." Waters said with a smile.

"If we had more time he would be fully trained but we don't." Beckman replied.

"Because of that we've added everything we could to the download concerning various forms of self-defense and unarmed combat. I still strongly advise more testing and it will give us more time to evaluate the subject more closely to see how he will handle all this new information."

"We don't have the time; he could regain his memories anytime. Make it work and control him." Beckman growled. "We need him, we don't need a super spy going rogue."

"Don't worry I'll be testing him very soon to see how well you did your job_._" Beckman said with a grimace. "I only hope you got it right.

Xxx

A knock at Beckman's door forced her from her thoughts.

"Come in." She grunted.

"Thank you for seeing me at such a late hour." the Director of the CIA begrudgingly gurgled out in an obligatory salutary greeting.

"Director, Fulcrum has a major foothold in the CIA. We don't know how up the ladder it has gone; I'm going to make this blunt. Deputy Director Evans is Fulcrum. We've determined this to be true and he's gone into hiding. It was through his knowledge that the Intersect was compromised and killed. I won't be sharing anymore information with you at this time. Needless to say you are also suspect." Beckman growled.

"General, there has to be some way we can work together?" Director Adams asked.

"I don't care what you've been told; this joint mission is at an end."

"General, I've had several requests for information from some of my most trusted deep cover operatives. They need to know what's going on."

"I'm afraid at this time they'll remain in the dark, tell them what you know if that's what you want to do but don't expect handouts from me. The security of the nation is at risk. They could be Fulcrum too." Beckman stated.

"I'd heard you were a hard ass."

"When your Deputy Director is implicated in the capture and death of the Intersect I'm taking no chances." Beckman screamed. "Come back to me when your house is clean."

Xxx

Sarah woke in a cold sweat, she'd had the nightmare again, no, actually the dream of her reality. Chuck had been killed after he'd been kidnapped and been about to give up important information that could have killed millions. The first week after he died she'd cried herself to sleep each night but now it was these nightmares that tormented her nights.

Her heart was still in pieces. They'd killed him. No, I let them kill my Chuck. I didn't protect him like I promised. I never even got to say goodbye to him properly. They'd buried an urn with nothing in it.

It terrified her that it was getting easier each day. Already things were getting foggy. She had to look at the picture she'd taken from his room to keep her memory fresh. His easy smile, his soft brown eyes that always looked at her with so much hope and love.

She kept the thought of killing Beckman for what she'd done in her head. The first few days after Chuck died she resolved herself to finding and killing the people responsible. It wasn't really Beckman's fault, Chuck had begged for the code and he wouldn't want her to do that but she still thought about it, a lot.

Xxx

Chuck woke in a strange bed and looked around, nothing seemed familiar. Where were his posters? The thought passed quickly returning to where it had come from and he remembered he was in his apartment. He'd had tiny bits of memories flit past his consciousness and just as quickly evaporated. It was like when you woke from a dream but it was gone so quickly you couldn't remember it.

The only thing he kept remembering whether awake or asleep was his blonde Angel. Sometimes her smile was so bright it could light Times Square and other times she would look sad. The worst was when her brilliant blue eyes would be filled with tears and somehow he knew it was his fault.

He got up and did his exercises before showering and dressing. He'd taken the mirror down from the wall and sat on the sofa staring at his reflection hoping for a memory, anything for about the millionth time he thought.

The face that stared back at him didn't look familiar. He saw the very short brown hair, the brown eyes, the nose and what he could see of his chin with the beginnings of a beard that was growing there. It had been impossible to shave with all the stitches and bruising on his face that it had got a little out of hand. He didn't care; he was the only one who had to look at himself. He could have been at the window looking out and seeing someone walking by in and he would have gotten the same response.

He got up again and paced around the apartment like a caged animal. He had nowhere to go and no one to see. The television hadn't been a very good distraction, nothing was familiar. Even Beckman hadn't called to explain anything, he was on his own. He walked into the bathroom again and stood looking into the mirror expecting a miracle, that suddenly he would remember anything, something, everything.

"Who the hell are you?" He screamed at the mirror.

Xxx

Sarah had contacted Bryce and Carina and told them of Chuck's death and the events leading up to it. Each had promised to help her all they could off the books. Carina had done it because she was her best friend and Sarah had told her how much she'd loved Chuck, Bryce helped because Chuck had been his only friend and had never really wanted to hurt him even though every time he saw him he did. When she contacted Cole, he offered to do what he could. He was just that kind of guy and Chuck had that effect on people.

She'd contacted anyone who owed her a favor and she thought she could trust, she'd do almost anything for a lead.

She'd hinted to so many people that it would mean a lot to her and always let the innuendo sizzle. It was an end to a means. It depressed her to think the depths she would sink back into to find the man ultimately responsible for Chuck's discovery and death.

Most of the leads had led nowhere but a couple had been promising, she was following Bill Taylor now, hoping he'd lead her to someone else she could question. She'd followed him to a bar the night before and watched him hoping he would make contact with someone. He just had a few drinks before leaving, never having spoken to anyone. She followed him back to his room and continued watching the room all night hoping when he left he would lead her to someone else higher up the chain of command.

She really didn't know what he might know; he was a lead she'd gotten from one of her contacts. He was definitely small time and it would be a long road with this starting point. She considered kidnapping him and torturing it out of him but that might give her away if anyone found out what happened to him. She compromised by putting a bugs in his car and home and a locator beacon on his car.

Deputy Director Evans was who she wanted to find and if that meant taking down all of Fulcrum, so be it. He'd been an agent for over twenty years, eighteen of them in the field. From what she could find out his record was exemplary and he was squeaky clean. She needed to find him, the thought of putting a bullet in his head was all that kept her going.

When he was dead she would go back to visit Sister Marie, she'd helped her so much in the first days after Chuck's death. Then maybe go home and see Ellie and Devon. She missed them, they'd become her family somewhere along the line when she was dating Chuck. She felt so alone, something a year ago she would be comfortable with but now it was almost unbearable.

Xxx

"General, do you think it is a good idea to allow Major Casey to be teamed with him now? He might recognize him or something about him might cause him to remember his past life?" Waters asked.

"At this point Major Casey is about the only one I can trust not to be Fulcrum. I know you disapprove but my hands are tied and that is why I want Major Casey to be one of the triggers for Agent Michaels." Beckman said.

"You know what you're asking; every time he sees him he'll flash and become your cold blooded killing machine? I've already told you that it could be dangerous if he's in this character form for extended periods. He'll eventually get stuck there."

"We have no choice, add it to the update." Beckman added.

"The new flash parameters we'll be inputting should be almost instantaneous and will look like recognition rather than the clunky flash from the old Intersect. For now the skill set will only be temporary but I have to warn you over time they will become second nature. I don't know how long you'll be able to control him with all you're adding. If he ever feels threatened by you or the NSA he'll go rogue and I can't be responsible for what he might do." Waters said.

"Will he do what he's told to do, I know from experience brainwashing doesn't work. We can't expect him to abandon his own sense of morality even if he's lost his memory?" Beckman asked.

"We won't be brainwashing him per se, the new Intersect will actually rewrite his brain. It'll input a past life, actual mission memories. Things he's done and will continue to do, it's a matter of weaving it into his brain so he thinks it to be true. Again I have to caution you General, at least give him some down time."

"We are at war Doctor, if he performs as you promise we can wipe out Fulcrum in six months. Can you guarantee me six months, after that he'll be a liability and need to be terminated anyway. He'll never be able to integrated back into society; it would just be too dangerous. Is it ready for implementation? We don't have any more time for conjecture."

"It's ready; I'll have it ready to go by three. Have him in front of a screen and it'll be over in an hour."

Xxx

Chuck had walked back into the living room and sat again on the sofa, he'd been staring at the mirror for over an hour when his phone rang. He looked at it like it was a snake about to strike before picking it up carefully and answering it.

"Hello?"

"Agent Michaels, this is General Beckman."

"Yes General?" Chuck answered. "I've wanted to call you but I didn't know how to contact you."

"We'll be having a video briefing at twelve hundred hours your time, please turn on your LCD screen then and you'll be updated on your new assignment." Beckman said before hanging up.

The wait was almost more than he could stand. He'd eaten some leftover Chinese food that he'd had delivered the night before and done his exercises again but time just seemed to stand still. He'd wanted to ask Beckman about his past and his life but she'd disconnected before he could. He still had another hour and he decided to take a nap.

The blond Angel was once again standing in front of him beckoning him to join her, a sad look on her face. He just stood and stared at her. She reached out for him, imploring him with her eyes to come to her.

A shrill alarm sounding from the screen woke him and he sat up bleary eyed looking to the screen. General Beckman stared at him with piercing eyes and that permanent grim scowl on her face.

The screen suddenly erupted in a myriad of images flashing so quickly that all Chuck could do was sit and stare with his eyes riveted to the screen. The images flashed for over an hour before they stopped and Chuck's eyes rolled up into his head and he passed out.

The near comatose state lasted for six hours as the new Intersect and updates burrowed and weaved their way into his brain. When he awoke his glazed eyes fixed, Chuck's mind was flooded with memories, his life and past missions flashed before his eyes.

He used the remote to initiate a call to General Beckman. "General, when does my next assignment start?" Chuck asked.

The corners of Beckman's mouth turned up into a smile when she realized it had all been successful. The war with Fulcrum would now be fought and won with her biggest prize, the new Intersect.

"Agent Michaels, your new assignment will start in two days. I'll contact you tomorrow with specifics." Beckman said as the screen went black.

Chuck looked at the mirror sitting on the sofa beside him and put it back on the wall.

He looked at himself; the image that greeted him didn't look right but after what had happened to him and the surgeries to repair the damage he thought it might not be the first time his appearance had changed.

He was a deep, deep cover operative, he'd never set foot in the NSA building and never would. It was just the way it was done for an agent of his leaning. There could be no pictures of him or it would compromise his life and future missions.

It was what he was good at; he no longer thought of the greater good, he only did what he was assigned to do. It wasn't up to him to decide if what he was doing was right only that it was the mission he was assigned and he would complete it.

He thought how the life of a spy was a lonely one; he'd been an orphan with no family. That didn't feel right but his brain kept telling him that it was true. He had no friends or romantic entanglements. All of this was a way of doing his job the best he could.

Xxx

Casey had finished reading the file that Beckman had provided on his new partner. He'd only heard whispers of the infamous Agent Michaels since he'd been back in Washington. There were always stories about super agents floating around to make the new recruits want to try harder. It always made him laugh; they'd been doing that since he was a rookie. The file he'd read contained missions that Agent Michael's executed and they impressed Casey, very few agents ever impressed him.

He'd heard of some of the missions but had never thought they'd been accomplished by one man, alone. Now he was to be his partner, a ghost no one had ever seen or even talked about meeting. That would explain why there was no picture in the file. No picture meant he couldn't be compromised or betrayed.

Fulcrum must've somehow got hold of this file too because now they had a name, if he was as good as the file said it wouldn't matter.

His new assignment was for him and Michaels to go after Fulcrum full blast take no prisoners and destroy what they found. A smile came to his face as the thought of copious amounts of gun play and possible firefights pinged around in his head.

He would relish this assignment, payback for what they'd taken from everyone he'd come to care about. A man who'd done everything asked of him, and asked for nothing in return, even if he had been a fragile, whiney little brat. They hadn't even been able to recover his body.

Most of all he would enjoy putting several bullets into Deputy Director Evans body before putting one between his eyes and anyone else that had defected to Fulcrum.

His flight left in the morning and his first mission was slated for the next day, a celebratory bottle of scotch tonight to toast lost comrades and a prayer for Walker too.

Xxx

Chuck decided to go out for food, he'd been cooped up in his apartment for far too long and he needed fresh air. He thought about it and he suddenly knew there was a little Italian restaurant nearby. The walk would do him good and he craved company or at the very least interaction with his own species, it was irrational for a deep cover agent but he couldn't explain it.

When he got to the end of the street he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end and a tingling at the back of his brain. Something didn't seem right, was it the young woman waiting at the bus stop, the man who had just walked past him with an almost military stride and eyes that never really looked at him or the taxi that seemed to be waiting for a fare in front of a house on the next street.

When he got to the next cross street he cut across diagonally and walked two blocks down and three blocks over. He walked to an apartment building advertising weekly and monthly rates, entering the front door he pressed all the call buttons and getting many "who is it's" before getting a buzzer signaling that the door was unlocked. He quickly walked in and entered the elevator, his finger hovering over the buttons before something told him to press the fifth floor button. He saw the man running up to the security door as the elevator closed and he was whisked up and away.

Once on the fifth floor he walked down the hall stopping in front of a green door. It was familiar but that thought was quickly pressed to the back of his brain as he kicked open the door. Somehow he knew it would be empty now. It was a room the CIA used for agents long term in LA. He rushed to the window and opened it before stepping back into the room and behind the door.

Looking around for a way of escape or weapon a tingle started at the back of his brain before spreading to the rest of his body. His once brown eyes turned the deepest shade of black possible. Like a black hole no light escaped to show his pupils. He opened the closet and pulled a lever hidden behind the door frame and a shelf dropped open. He scooped up a silenced P229 before resuming his position behind the door. Loading a magazine and snicking off the safety, he pulled the slide back and let it snap forward chambering a round as he waited for his prey in the shadows.

The sound of feet running down the hall and heavy breathing alerted him that at least one had used the stairs and they were outside the room. Pressing his back against the wall so they couldn't see him through the hinge side of the door he waited for them to enter. They entered slowly with weapons drawn; once they saw the window open they rushed in ignoring procedure.

Slamming the door shut Chuck watched as they whirled on the balls of their feet looking for danger. Chuck fired two shots, one to each of their hands that held their guns. With their guns on the floor he waved his gun at them motioning for them to sit on the bed. He didn't bother to tell them to put up their hands as he would just kill them if they moved to quickly or did something he didn't like. If they died he still had the two in the car he could capture and question.

"Who are you and why are you following me?" Chuck growled.

"We're your protective detail, we're NSA." The man stammered as he stared into the blackest eyes he'd ever seen.

"I wasn't informed that I had a protective detail."

"Check with General Beckman." The woman said with fear evident in her eyes.

Chuck pulled his phone out and dialed, keeping his eyes on the couple.

"General, I've captured a man and a woman that claim they're my protective detail. I've also seen two men in a black car following me." Chuck stated.

"Describe them Agent Michaels?" Beckman demanded.

Chuck described the couple and the men in the car, noting the scar on the driver's chin and the small star birthmark on the woman's wrist partially hidden by her watch. He then asked if they were thoroughly vetted once Beckman confirmed they were who they said they were.

"Agent Michaels, they are there to watch you while you recuperate. I wanted to make sure you were safe." Beckman said.

This is even better than I could have imagined, he made his tail and captured them. Highly trained shadows and he made them all.

"I don't need protection and I don't like being watched. I'm walking out of here and I won't be returning to my apartment. I'll contact you tomorrow to get the details of the mission. If I see them again I'll kill them. Is that understood?" Chuck growled.

Two phones beeped in unison as they received text messages. Looking to Chuck, he nodded and they checked their phones. They stood and walked out the door Chuck held open for them.

Chuck looked around the room again and wondered why it all seemed familiar. His eyes defaulted to their soft brown. Chuck took in the bed, the chairs by the window and the small kitchenette, and suddenly a pizza with no olives sounded like the only thing in the world worth having.

Xxx

Beckman was pleased; Chuck had surpassed what she'd hoped he'd be able to do. Granted the agents she'd sent on the protective detail had only just graduated but they were the top of the class. If she'd sent seasoned agents Chuck would've flashed on them and that would have defeated the purpose of the exercise. She wanted to know if the new Intersect would protect him and work like it was supposed to. Now all she had to do was give him the triggers and wait for Fulcrum to fall. It would be that easy.

Xxx

Sarah woke the next morning in her car when the GPS locator beacon she'd installed on Taylor's car showed he was moving. She stayed well back not wanting to give herself away tailing him. After a half hour drive the beacon showed him stopping. She drove slowly by the house where she saw the car parked in front of and parked on the next block.

Exiting the car she slowly made her way back to the house and placed a transmitter on the other car in the driveway and made her way to the side of the house looking for a way in. All the windows were locked but when she heard voices at one she attached a listening device to the glass and walked quickly back to her car.

Plugging her earphone in she listened as another man explained to Taylor the job he had for him. He was to set up a safe house that could be used for various reasons including a hideout or a place to question someone. The way the man talked Sarah knew he was a step up the ladder like she'd hoped.

When Taylor left Sarah waited for a chance to enter the house and plant more bugs and then tail him. She didn't have to wait long before he came out of the house and left in his car. If she was quick she could do this and still catch up to him and see where he went.

Upon picking the lock and entering the house Sarah knew he wouldn't be coming back. It was just a place to meet and would probably never be used again. There was no furniture, no beds, no anything. She quickly placed a couple bugs anyway and ran out hoping he didn't get out of range of the transmitter, she had to find where he went.

After ten minutes of driving full out she was close enough to settle in at a comfortable distance behind him. He drove for forty-five minutes before Sarah noted he was heading for the airport. She sped up closing the distance so she could see where he went and if he got on a plane; if he did she would get on the same plane. Now that she had a solid lead she couldn't let him get away.

The man she was following whose name she found out was David Johnson bought a ticket for San Diego, a place she knew fairly well from her youth. Once she got her ticket and entered the departure lounge she scanned the room looking for him. He was seated by himself looking out the window and waiting like everyone else for the plane.

The plane ride was fairly short, she thought how she could have driven the distance in her Porsche faster considering the wait time in the lounge and on the runway. Once back on the ground she stayed near the back of the departing passengers so as not to alert Johnson that she was following him.

She had her carry on bag in her hand and watched him linger at a magazine stand before turning abruptly and heading for the exit. Once out the door a car pulled up and he got in and it sped off.

Sarah was caught by surprise, and ran to a cab pulling the driver out and taking off after the car. It became apparent almost immediately that she'd lost him in all the traffic, cursing in every language she knew she roared through the seemingly lost drivers that were in her way. By the time she got out onto a surface street there were considerably more dents in the cab than when she go into it.

Pulling into a mall parking lot she dumped the cab and walked a while before hailing another cab, directing it to take her to a hotel where she could clean up and plan her next move, a move that would require her to contact the CIA something she'd avoided since she left LA.

Xxx

"Director Adams, secure?"

"Agent Walker, secure."

"Agent Walker, you've been out of contact for over three weeks. Explain yourself?"

"Director, Fulcrum has infiltrated our Agency. I've been trying to gain an advantage off grid." Sarah explained.

"Agent Walker you know procedures, you were to report to Washington immediately upon the termination of the asset."

"Sir, I've been trying to follow up on a few leads I've been able to get." Sarah stated.

"That's not your job anymore Agent, you've become too emotionally involved. Report back to DC now for debriefing and reassignment."

"I can't do that Sir; I need to finish what I started. I have a lead; I just need some information on a couple of names." Sarah added.

Adams sighed and let out a long breath of air trying to release his anger at her insubordination. If it wasn't for her stubbornness I'd be asking for a hundred more like her. At least she's getting things done.

In a softer voice he started. "Agent Walker, you need to come to DC. This was a very long deep cover assignment and I'm sure you developed feelings for the asset while pretending to be his girlfriend. You need to debrief and talk to our shrink, these feelings are very common."

"No, I can't, I loved him and I'm going to track down those responsible for his death with or without your help. This is something I have to do." Sarah screamed.

"If you're not back in DC by the end of the week I'll flag your file as a rogue agent." Adams growled.

"I'm sorry Director, you have my deepest respect but I'm going to find Evans and kill him." Sarah calmly stated before pressing end and throwing the cell phone at the wall breaking it.

She'd pick up another cell when she left the room, then she could check with Bryce and Carina again to see if they had uncovered any new information or knew anything about Taylor or Johnson.

She considering altering her appearance by cutting her hair short and dyeing it brown but no matter how much she thought about it she couldn't. Chuck had always commented on her hair and the way he looked at her when she wore it loose around her shoulders. He would bury his face in her newly shampooed hair on cover date night, god how I miss that, his warm breath on my shoulder while he held me tight.

It always seemed so ridiculous but it meant so much to him. Now she realized it meant as much or more to her, she always thought that once the mission was over she'd move on but now she knew she wouldn't have been able to. He was so much more than an asset, he was the man she loved and wanted to be with forever.

Nothing would stop her in her quest for justice, no, her quest to avenge the death of her one and only true love.

Xxx

A/N: Hope you enjoy. If not let me know how I can get better.

Thanks to all the readers who left reviews and all who put alerts on my last story, I hope you like this too. I love you, not as much as I love Sarah but close, actually not even close but thanks.

I much prefer to read the great stories others write here, there are so many great writers here I feel very inferior but sometime I have an idea that will not leave my head. I wish I could pass it on and then read about it.

PS: Please read and review.


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own Chuck or anybody else in the Chuck world; I only got some clothes and a poster for Christmas. If anyone else got Chuck, I'd be willing to trade. I also got a giant Toblerone!**

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this posted. I could not get it the way I liked and then life intruded. I kept writing on the later chapters but kept coming back and changing things again and again. This chapter eventually bloated to almost 10k so I split it. Which is good news, that means the next chapter should be up in about a week after I tweak it a little.**

**I have to express my gratitude to jagged1 for the beta and tireless work she put in on this. After seeing all the corrections she had to make I am sure it was unreadable. If you like this in any small part it's because of her and if you don't it's because I didn't listen to her enough.**

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and I hope you enjoy this. Please leave a review.

Xxx

Chuck vs. the Forgotten Life

Xxx

A brief reminder of what happened in Chapter 1.

Beckman has had Chuck updated with a new Intersect and his memories wiped, and new ones inserted. Sarah is on a vendetta to kill Deputy Director Evans and has gone rogue. Casey is to be Chuck's new partner but will he recognize him after the plastic surgery?

Xxx

Chapter 2

Los Angeles

Xxx

The sun had long since passed overhead and no longer shone in the window. With no lights on, it left the room dark and gloomy.

Chuck sat on the end of the bed in the apartment. He'd had so much purpose only a few minutes ago and now he felt like a lost puppy. Where had all his bravado gone? There was so much here that he felt but couldn't fathom. He looked down at his shaking hands before burying his face in them; things seemed so clear for a moment and then gone.

An hour later, Chuck finally left the hotel. Once out the door, he looked around for the agents assigned to shadow him that he'd captured. They were gone and nothing seemed to be out of sync.

He walked with purpose down the street and crossed at the crosswalk, discretely taking in his surroundings as he made his way two blocks to an Italian restaurant. Once inside and seated, he quickly scanned the menu and ordered the pizza with no green olives; the meal he so longed for when he was in the apartment with the green door.

He ate a slice but it seemed a better idea than it was when he actually ate it. He felt so alone.

"Is everything okay?" the waitress asked, looking at him with a plastic smile. Chuck just nodded and wondered why this had held so much appeal only to be replaced with a sense of longing. He stared at the waitress for a few seconds. She had blonde hair but something about her didn't look right and then he realized it was that she had light green eyes and not the breathtakingly brilliant blue like the Angel from his dreams.

Chuck pushed away from the table, and after dropping a few bills next to his plate, he left. He stood at the curb and hailed a cab not knowing where he was going. '_You can never go home again_._'_ The thought kept ringing through his head. _I have no home. I have no one to go home to._

He instructed the cab driver to drop him off downtown; he walked to another taxi stand and had that one drop him off at a hotel. He crossed through the lobby, down a long corridor and went out the back way. He walked to another cab, telling the driver to take him to another hotel. He walked to a bus stop and rode until he felt comfortable that he was not being followed.

The whole exercise was something that he wondered why he was doing but through training it had been ingrained into his being. He walked down the street to an ATM and inserted his card, withdrawing the maximum amount allowed and repeated the procedure until it would give him no more.

Walking back to a hotel, he requested a room on the fifth floor. Chuck slid his black Amex card across the polished counter, and seeing the card he used, the woman didn't question him about his lack of luggage. She just handed him the card key for his room. "Enjoy your stay, Mr. Michaels."

Upon entering the room, Chuck looked at his cell phone and wondered how they were able to track him to the apartment so easily? He pulled the battery out and examined it more closely. Tucked under the battery was a GPS transmitter. He didn't need people tracking him; he pulled it out and left it on the night stand. He next pulled out his wallet and after extracting all of the cash; he threw the empty wallet on the bed and left the room.

Taking the elevator to the parking level, he found the employee parking area. He knew the cars there would be older and less likely to have alarms or GPS locators. Hopefully, he could find one that wasn't locked and not have to smash a window.

The third car door he tried opened and he flashed on how to hot-wire a 1994 Chrysler Intrepid. Pulling the wires down from under the dash, he had it running in less than a minute. Breaking the steering wheel lock took a little longer but he was still driving out of the garage in less than ten minutes. He would be long done with it and abandon the car by the time it was reported stolen.

He drove south toward Long Beach, getting off the 710 and leaving the car in a Wal-Mart parking lot. He went inside and picked up a few necessities before walking down the street, scanning for anyone that seemed out of place. It seemed the most natural thing.

Chuck hailed a cab and had it drop him off in front of a house. Once it was out of sight, he walked down the street and over a couple of blocks and finally decided the Blue Fish Motel would do for tonight. It was a little seedy and that was perfect; a little extra cash and a credit card wouldn't be required.

After settling in the room and setting a few basic trip alarms between the door and the bed, he lay down and went to sleep with his gun in his hand.

He would call the general in the morning to set up his mission. There would be no more video calls as they could compromise his anonymity.

He'd only survived this long because he never went home.

Xxx

San Diego – Late afternoon

Sarah had to get out of the room and the city now. The CIA would've already have traced her phone to this location and if they were really serious they would already have a team headed there to bring her in. She couldn't allow that. She had work to do.

She had one last contact; a man who'd pledged his life to her after she'd saved him. Sarah had never called in the favor but now she was down to her last straw. She'd visited him several times when stationed in L.A., just because they were friends. She couldn't contact him by phone and that left only one thing to do. She had to get to L.A. Taking a cab to a local car rental agency, she was on the road within an hour. Getting on the highway, she pressed the pedal down and headed north.

The drive took her a lot longer than it would have if she'd had her Porsche. The little domestic car she rented was more for anonymity than speed and in that regard it worked well. Pulling into the outskirts of L.A., she got off the highway, looking for the bar where she knew he could always be found.

Pete's Tavern was a dive -the kind of place where alcoholics and chronic drinkers came looking for a sympathetic ear. It took a moment for her eyes to become accustomed to the darkened room when she stepped inside. Then she was assaulted by the haze of smoke and the smell of stale beer.

He was in his usual booth at the back, and when she slid in, he looked up in surprise. He'd been an instructor when she was at the farm and they had kept the friendship up even after she left. When she'd saved his life, he'd told her if she ever needed anything, he'd be there for her.

"Hey, how are you?" The man stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and tipped back his beer, while never taking his eyes off of her. "You're hot stuff right now. I don't think it's a good idea for you to be here in town at the moment. Both sides are looking for you."

"What can you tell me that I don't already know?" Sarah asked.

The man looked at her closely. "You look like shit, Sarah. What happened to you? Wait – don't bother telling me. I already know the story."

"If you know the story, you know what I need to find out. I know you still have plenty of contacts. I need help."

"Sorry, Sarah, but you're smoking hot and I don't mean that in a good way. Everyone has feelers out for you; all I can tell you is head to Mexico and disappear."

"I know that's the smart thing to do but there's something I need to do first. Is there nothing you can tell me?"

"If I so much as think your name, I'm in trouble. I'm sorry Sarah, I wish I could help. Like I said, the best thing you can do is get out of the country and fast."

Sarah stood and looked at the wheelchair beside the booth. With a sad defeated look on her face she said softly. "Sorry to have bothered you. Forget you saw me, okay?"

Stepping out into the sunshine, Sarah stood with a glazed look on her face wondering what she would do now. So preoccupied with her own thoughts, she didn't even notice the two men watching her. She needed time to think and needed to get away. Distracted and disappointed, she got on the bus that had just stopped in front of her. Sitting and staring out the window, her conversation with her one time instructor and friend repeated in her head. _I'm sorry Sarah, I wish I could help._

Xxx

Unknown to Sarah, Johnson had recognized her on the flight to San Diego and after informing his superiors, they'd sent a 'snatch and grab' team to the airport to follow her. They were excited at the thought of an agent of her caliber being flagged rogue. They followed her wild cab ride from the airport and her unexpected trip to L.A. They were ready to find out where her allegiances were. An agent like her would help in their fight or at least give them information that would help them.

The 'snatch and grab' team, Jim Jennings and Mike Edwards, were both former NSA agents before defecting to Fulcrum. Jennings was a tall man with red hair while Edwards was of medium height and brown hair. Jennings would stand out in crowd and that was the reason he'd stayed in the car and Edwards had positioned himself outside across the street from the bar. He was average and nobody ever noticed him. Edwards thought about running across the street and getting on the bus too but that might attract attention. Instead, he casually walked to the car and got in. Jennings pulled into traffic and followed the bus staying well back so as not to alert the agent that they were there. They had followed her all the way from San Diego and it had been so easy.

"Are you sure this is the woman we're supposed to grab?" Jennings asked.

"You've seen the picture. It's her. She seems distracted but it's her," Edwards replied.

"I just thought it would be a little harder to tail her. She's supposed to be one of the best agents the CIA has?"

"Probably couldn't cut it in the NSA," Edwards chuckled and Jennings joined in the laughter.

After following the bus through several stops, Jennings turned to his partner. "How long do you think she's going to stay on the bus? Even a dolt from the CIA is going to notice us soon."

"Pass the bus and drop me off about a mile up the street at a stop and I'll get on it. You'll be able to track me and if she gets off I'll follow her," Edwards replied.

Xxx

Sarah was snapped out of her contemplations and depressive thoughts when she was jostled by an older woman taking the seat beside her carrying several shopping bags. Sarah turned toward the woman and took in her surroundings. _Where the hell am I? How did I get on the bus? How long have I been on it? Do I even care anymore? Maybe I should just head to Mexico and disappear._

Sarah waited for the next stop and then stood and got off. Seeing a Wal-Mart and remembering she needed a new cell phone, she walked into the store and made her purchase. When she exited the store, she walked to the curb and was about to hail a cab when she noticed a street sign. She realized that she was only three blocks from her old apartment. _Home_.

Fighting the urge to run, Sarah walked the three blocks quickly. Standing in the shadow of the building she took a deep breath and opened the door. After punching in her access code the door opened and she looked around warily. Seeing no one, she moved to the stairwell door and proceeded up the stairs to the fifth floor. Opening the door slightly, she took a look down the hall. A man and woman were waiting for the elevator. As soon as they got on, she ran to her old room. The green door brought back such memories of the many times she'd stood on the other side of it and opened it only to see Chuck standing there - his curly hair, goofy smile and soft brown eyes that always made her heart flutter.

Sarah noticed that the door had been damaged. She pushed it open slowly with one of her knives at the ready. It was empty and was as she'd left it except all her belongings had been removed. She stood just inside the door and closed her eyes, leaning back against the wall. She could almost make herself believe she could smell Chuck's scent. The heady musk of his body wash and the smell of his shampoo filled her senses. Sliding down the wall she put her face in her hands and started to cry. This was where everything had started to go bad; she'd denied him something as simple as telling him her real middle name. _My middle name is Lisa._

When she felt she was able, she stood and wiped the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand. She pulled the phone from her pocket and called Carina. It went to voice mail. She tried again; she couldn't leave a message. It would be too dangerous to both of them; she'd just have to keep trying.

Dialing Bryce, he answered on the first ring. "Hello?"

"Bryce, I need help. Anything you can tell me about two Fulcrum agents named Bill Taylor or David Johnson?" Sarah asked without as much as a hello.

"Never heard of them. Where did you run across them?" Bryce questioned.

"In Arizona but I followed Johnson to San Diego. I lost him." Sarah answered.

"Probably low level grunts."

"Have you heard anything else?"

"Sarah, the CIA had flagged you as rogue and put a sanction on you. I'm sorry but it's not a good idea for you to call me anymore. I'd like to help but if someone tracks your cell it would put you in the crosshairs. Disappear, at least until things cool down."

"Thanks, Bryce."

"Good luck, Sarah, and stay safe," Bryce said quietly, and he hung up before she could reply.

Sarah sat back down and wondered what she was going to do. None of her contacts would even talk to her.

The word was out. She was damaged goods.

Certainly, the best option left to her was to run to Mexico or points south and wait for the heat to die down.

The other option she considered was going to Washington and killing Beckman.

Sarah slammed her hand on the floor. She was losing patience. Carina still wasn't answering her phone and wouldn't talk to her anymore. Every other contact that she tried told her they couldn't take the chance talking to her.

Xxx

Jennings and Edwards had followed Sarah to the hotel. After Sarah had bolted for the stairwell door, Edwards quickly picked the lock on the front door and they ran to the same door. Quietly making their way up the stairs, they were able to ascertain that it was the fifth floor she exited on.

Jennings poked his head out the door and saw Sarah entering a room at the end of the hall.

"She's in the room at the end of the hall," Jennings gloated. "We got her."

"I'll call a crew. We'll need a way to get her out of here without drawing attention," Edwards answered.

They had been hiding in the stairwell for twenty minutes when they heard someone approaching. They pulled their guns and waited until they heard the signal they were waiting for. The team was on site and ready

"What have you got?" Edwards questioned.

"I've got knock out gas and masks. When she's unconscious, the rest of the team will come up dressed as paramedics. An ambulance is waiting," The newcomer announced.

Edwards slowly walked to the green door wearing his mask and sprayed the chloroform derivative under it. It was supposed to work within seconds but to be safe he waited a full minute before pushing the door open. Flattening himself against the wall, he peeked in to the room and saw the blonde agent lying on the floor not moving but breathing regularly.

After waving to Jennings and the other man to call the extraction team, he walked to the windows and threw them open to clear the air. It would only take a few minutes for the chloroform to dissipate.

The paramedic team put Sarah on a stretcher and wheeled her to the elevator and down to the parking garage where the ambulance waited.

Xxx

Casey settled into his seat on the plane, ready for his new assignment. During his tenure in D.C., he'd tried all his contacts to find Walker but she'd gone off grid and was nowhere to be found. He wondered if she and Chuck had crossed the line. The missions had been so successful that he never let it bother him, and now he wondered if he should have intervened. It could have never ended happily. His assignment was to terminate Chuck when the new Intersect came on-line, but after so many setbacks, he doubted it would have ever happened. Orion was the only one who could make it work properly and he'd disappeared.

He'd toasted his lost comrades late into the night. Bartowski never should've been put in that position but had made the ultimate sacrifice to save the ones he loved; a true selfless act that Casey had seen very few times in his career. It was something he himself would do if required but he never thought Chuck would.

Xxx

Chuck woke in the morning, reaching to the other side of the bed for his blonde Angel. She'd been in his dreams all night. He dreamed of them cuddling on a sofa eating pizza, walking hand in hand and the last dream just before he woke, she was in his bed in a purple negligee. It was so real that when he reached out and found the bed empty, he wondered where she was.

He should really tell someone about these strange dreams he'd been having but who could he tell? His only contact was General Beckman. Now that he thought about it, it seemed very odd. He couldn't remember any childhood friends or even friends that he might have had when he went to university.

He knew where he went to school and remembered the names of his teachers but there were no faces to go along with the names. Had the last mission and subsequent injuries purged his mind of everything? All he remembered were his successful assignments and the need to continue doing what he did. He was the obedient soldier. Never question orders.

He quickly had a shower and used the jet black hair dye he'd bought the night before to color his hair and beard, another way to disguise himself if anyone had noticed him yesterday.

Xxx

Chuck left his room in the morning looking for breakfast. As he walked toward the front door of the hotel he noticed a man getting out of a grey four door sedan. He flashed; it was Greg Meadows, ex NSA and Fulcrum member. This man was not a high ranking member of Fulcrum, but not exactly a low level grunt either. He was a starting point. Chuck would have to report this to Beckman. Reversing direction, he headed back toward his room, watching to see what room Meadows entered.

Chuck saw Meadows, a tall man with black, slicked back hair, enter room 15. Chuck went back downstairs and waited fifteen minutes to see if he came back out. He needed equipment, but all he had was what he'd bought at Wal-Mart last night - toiletries and a case to carry them in.

Standing on the front step of the hotel, he scanned the neighborhood and spotted a familiar green and yellow sign towering above the nearby office and retail buildings. Walking quickly, he was standing in front of the store in minutes. He knew what he needed to make - a simple GPS transmitter and several other basic devices.

When the glass door slid open and Chuck stepped inside, he almost stumbled from all the images flooding his brain. He stood stock still just inside the door until a man came up and brought him out of his trance. "Welcome to Buy More, can I help you find anything?" the man in the familiar green shirt asked.

Chuck mumbled that he knew what he wanted and walked off to find what he needed. The weird part was he knew instinctively where everything he needed would be located in the store, down to the smallest part. Once he paid and walked out the door, he stood looking across the parking lot. Something seemed out of place. He envisioned a yogurt shop, but all he saw was a pizza shop. Again he felt the yearn of pizza with no green olives, but somehow he knew it would leave him hollow and unfulfilled. It wasn't the pizza he desired but something to do with it.

He walked back to his room to assemble his new toys and contact Beckman. Sitting in his room, he called the general and told her of the man staying in room 15 and asked for orders.

"Stay put, Agent Michaels. I'll call you back later with a time when Major Casey will be in contact - then follow him and see if he leads you to anyone else."

"If he doesn't meet with anyone else by morning, I'll need a safe house to take him to so he can be questioned," Chuck replied.

"Fair enough, but wait for your partner before doing anything."

Xxx

When Casey got off the plane in L.A., he was glad it was only going to be for a short time. He hated this city. He never liked it to begin with but now it was the site of his only failure as an agent. His asset had been kidnapped and died because of his negligence. At least this time, he didn't have to pose as a salesman at a stupid Buy More store.

He would be briefed on his first mission and meet his new partner today. Fulcrum would never know what hit them. Beckman had said she had new information on them and it would be his job to round them up and put them down. Casey relished the idea, and it was the only thing that made L.A. bearable to him.

Beckman had told him there would be a room waiting for him at the Marriott near the airport in L.A. As Casey tried to stretch out in the back of the taxi, his phone started to vibrate. Looking at the caller ID and seeing the NSA Logo, he quickly answered.

"Casey secure."

"Beckman secure. We have a situation. Agent Michaels fla … ran across a Fulcrum agent where he is staying. I need you to go meet with him and help take him down. His name is Greg Meadows and he's a former NSA agent. Your mission is to watch him and see if he meets with anyone else, if not capture him and bring him in. We may be able to glean information from him with a little persuasion from you. Remember, Agent Michaels is still not fully recovered from his injuries. He will be your back up on this mission. Do you understand your orders, Major Casey?"

"Yes, General. Do we have a secure site set up that we will use for interrogations?" Casey asked, liking this mission more by the minute. The thought of hurting people always brought a smile to his face.

"You'll receive a text message within the hour. The address is a warehouse with a basement so it would be appropriate if you picked up a van. There are rooms there and it might be advisable for Agent Michaels and yourself to stay there for the duration of your stay in L.A."

"If I understand you correctly, we will have no contact with anyone besides you - off the radar."

"Correct, Major; proceed to the Blue Fish Motel on Maple Boulevard just off the 710 in Long Beach. Your partner is in room 21. Your identification code is 'white fish tastes better'. I know it sounds silly but after what he's been through, he demanded it. You better hurry." Beckman said before hanging up.

Casey gave the cab driver a new destination and sat wondering about his new partner and his demand of a silly code phrase. Maybe this might not be that great of an assignment if his new partner was this paranoid.

Xxx

A/N: Hope you enjoy. If not let me know how I can get better.

Thanks to all the readers who left reviews and all who put alerts on my last story, I hope you like this too. I love you, not as much as I love Sarah but close, actually not even close but thanks.

PS: Please read and review. The more reviews I get the quicker I'll post the next chapter. Just kidding, maybe.


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own Chuck or anybody else in the Chuck world. I have a birthday coming up so maybe.**

**A/N: I have to express my gratitude to jagged1 for the beta and tireless work she put in on this. I think she must have a little Alchemist in her, instead of turning lead into gold. She turned my confusing ramblings into something that made sense. LOL. If you like this in any small part it's because of her and if you don't it's because I didn't listen to her enough.**

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and I hope you enjoy this. Please leave a review.

Xxx

Chapter 3

Xxx

Chuck set the Bluetooth speaker for his new cell phone on the chair he'd positioned just inside the door of the motel room. When someone knocked on the door, he could tell them to come in and he'd be able to enter behind them without danger. Fulcrum had infiltrated every agency so deep and he couldn't trust anyone. Even General Beckman was suspect. He closed the door and waited in the empty room across the hall for whoever was coming for him.

He thought about Greg Meadows and how he'd killed his last partner just before defecting to join Fulcrum. They'd been on a mission to recover highly classified documents about the Intersect Program from a third party that was trying to sell them back to the NSA. When they got the documents back, Meadows had put a bullet in his partner's head and took the secrets to his new masters.

Chuck had been told he had a photographic memory and this must have been one of the files he'd looked at recently because he knew everything there was to know about Meadows, down to the smallest detail.

Sitting in the darkened room, Chuck's mind played back the events from earlier in the day. He had gone to a local Buy More and purchased what he needed to build basic homing transmitters and planted one on Meadow's car. Again he wondered why it was so disturbing when he walked into the store.

Xxx

Casey walked out of the car rental office after securing a white panel van. He needed to hurry before his new partner or their target left the Blue Fish Motel. The drive took longer than he thought it would because of an accident on the 710 but within an hour he was parked in front of the motel and knocking on the door of room 21.

After hearing footsteps in the hall Chuck looked out the peephole. A large man stood at the door to room 21 with his back to him. Chuck didn't know who he was, whether he was the agent sent by Beckman or a Fulcrum agent who had intercepted orders. When the man looked around to scan the hallway, Chuck saw his face and he flashed. The trigger implanted in his brain took over. His eyes turned as black as coal and his expression hardened.

"Come in. Keep your hands in plain sight," Casey heard. It was a voice devoid of life, almost mechanical, from within the room. When he entered, he looked around for the person who had issued the command. Just as he noticed the speaker on the chair, Casey felt the cold metal of a gun barrel pressed to the back of his neck. Fearing it might have been a set up, he quickly executed a leg sweep and spun around and grabbed for the gun, but he was surprised that his hand only swiped air.

Chuck avoided the leg sweep and dropped the agent with a kick to the sternum. With Casey lying on the floor gasping for breath, Chuck pointed his gun at him again.

Stepping back, Chuck growled, "Who are you and what are you doing in my room? You have three seconds before I put a bullet in your head."

"White fish tastes better," Casey quickly blurted out, looking at the silenced P229.

Chuck looked over the man carefully before closing the door and putting his weapon back into his holster.

"We don't have a lot of time for pleasantries. Meadows is getting ready to leave and we need to know if he contacts anyone."

Casey had worked with a lot of agents in his time but never one that scared him. This man was the epitome of cold and ruthless, a man that was all business. Casey looked at him closely as he scrambled to his feet.

Agent Michaels was dressed immaculately in a dark suit. _Shit_. _Don't tell me I got a Bryce Larkin clone._ He was just over six feet tall with short black hair and beard. His face was cold and impassive, almost as if made of stone but what struck him the most were his black eyes. So lifeless, they didn't just seem to look at you but look through you. Like he wasn't even there or didn't matter.

Standing and holding out his hand, he studied the man. "Major John Casey, NSA. Beckman sent me. I'm your new partner. You must be Agent Michaels."

Chuck ignored the outstretched hand and walked to a table, retrieving a small handheld device and case before turning to glare at Casey.

Forcing himself to pull away from the agents death stare, Casey squinted as he scanned the rest of his new partner's face. There were several scars on his cheek bone and forehead that still hadn't fully healed. The shape of the face seemed familiar, but the shape of the parts that made up the man's features were off, somehow. He knew he'd never worked with him.

He would remember a man this cold and arrogant.

"I don't care who you are. Meadows is leaving and this transmitter only has a range of about a mile. Do you have a vehicle? If not, I'm going to have to get one, because I'm not going to lose him," Chuck stated flatly, opening the door and walking out.

Casey hurried to catch up to him in the hall. "The white panel van parked in front. I also picked up some equipment on the way."

"Parked in front. White panel van. Are you a damned rookie? Let's go and if you screw this up I'll send you back to Beckman in a body bag," Chuck growled. "I already told her if the mark didn't meet up with anyone by tomorrow morning, I would grab him and get the information any way I could."

The muscles in Casey's jaw were taut, but he bit back a snide reply. No one talked to Major John Casey, NSA and retired USMC like he was a damned recruit.

_Who did he think he was, this little mother fuc- _

Casey's thoughts were abruptly interrupted when the other agent spoke.

"The target seems to have a destination in mind. He's using every move he's probably ever been taught to lose a tail. Stay back and let's see where he leads us." Chuck settled into the passenger seat and began giving directions to Casey.

Xxx

Casey was seething; this agent had called him a rookie and continued to treat him as such every time he spoke to him. This 'super agent', as he probably thought of himself, just rubbed him the wrong way. _He probably hadn't even been out of diapers when I was out saving the world_.

"You're too close," Chuck hissed, and broke Casey out of his thoughts. "Do I have to drive and keep track of where he's going, Casey?" Chuck taunted the older man.

"I've got it under control, Michaels," Casey grunted.

"He's stopped. Park here and let me go do reconnaissance. I need to set up a bug and find out who he's talking to," Chuck told his new partner.

"Beckman said you were to only be back up on this mission. I think even for an _amateur _I can set a bug and do routine surveillance." Casey was getting pissed at this guy's arrogance.

"These men aren't amateurs. Do you know how to set it so they don't get feedback because the frequency is too close to their jamming devices?" Chuck asked with a raised eyebrow.

Casey just stared at the agent. When he raised his eyebrow and talked in his techno babble, he so reminded him of someone else. Casey relented as he didn't know how to do what Michaels was talking about. He barely understood it.

"Get to it, Agent, I'll wait here as back up. But if you're not back in five minutes, I'm coming in guns blazing," Casey retorted. That was what he was good at. Guns, guns and lots more guns.

"Stay in the van, Casey." Casey's head snapped up as he was sure he heard a small chuckle come out of the mouth of Michaels.

Chuck cut off the quiet chortle as quickly as it had come out of his mouth. In his head, he was laughing uproariously, though. That was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. He repeated it again under his breath but it didn't seem as funny this time.

Chuck smashed the interior light with the butt of his gun before opening his door, and when Casey blinked, he was gone. He couldn't see him; he'd disappeared into the darkness and was gone. Perhaps there was more to him than even his file indicated_. _He'd heard of the Ghost Section but had always put it down as a myth, but like Michaels, myths were becoming real in the last few days.

Xxx

Mike Edwards sat in the room watching Agent Walker sleep. He and his partner had followed her from San Diego to L.A. to a hotel room where they had captured her. As soon as she woke up, the exciting part would start.

Sarah awoke and felt the ties holding her wrists and ankles to the chair. She hadn't opened her eyes yet but knew instinctively that someone was watching her. She could feel their eyes staring at her.

Without waiting for him to see she was awake, she kept her eyes closed and called out. "Who are you and what do you want with me?"

The agent watching her was surprised that she was awake and hadn't noticed. Her breathing hadn't changed and she hadn't struggled against her bonds.

"Glad to see you're finally awake, Agent Walker. We have many questions," Edwards said with a sneer. "You will tell us what we want to know

Sarah lifted her head from her chest and opened her eyes. She stared at him intensely until he looked away, breaking eye contact.

From what she could see the room was empty except for the chair she was zip tied to. The paint was faded and chipped in places. It was a standard interrogation room. She cringed a little but didn't let it show as she thought about what they would do to her to get what they wanted. She'd been through torture before.

The man who stood before her was average. The perfect appearance for a spy: average, very average, nothing to call attention to himself. He had the lost in a crowd look, with pale blue eyes and brown hair. Nothing remarkable. His eyes were weak and didn't have the sharpness a spy needed in this business.

"I don't talk to lackeys. Get your boss in here and then we can have a conversation," Sarah snarled.

"I'll have you know …," the man started.

"Please, now you're going to brag about your outstanding accomplishments. That makes you even more of an amateur," Sarah stated. "Go get your boss or if he's listening like he should be, he knows already that I'll only talk to him."

Xxx

Within two minutes, voices transmitted from the receiver that Michaels had left in the van. A minute later, Michaels himself opened the door, surprising Casey. He sat down asking if he'd started the recording.

Casey started to grumble a reply, and Chuck pressed record on the device he'd cobbled together with parts from the Buy More.

They could hear Meadows telling someone that he was tired of doing the grunt work and wanted a serious assignment. Since joining Fulcrum, he hadn't been tasked with anything important - just minor tasks and he was getting sick of it.

Chuck was playing with a couple of devices that looked like Altoid mint cases with six wires sticking out of each. He set each one down after playing with them for a minute. The final one looked like a camera but it had extra appendages, resembling the tentacles of an octopus.

"Major, start sending the recordings to Beckman for voice recognition. I'm going back to plant transmitters on every vehicle in the vicinity and set a video feed. I want a picture of every person that leaves that house," Chuck demanded before getting out of the van and again vanishing into the darkness.

_The myth just gets more real every second I have to spend with him._

Casey started the task of sending the audio files to General Beckman for analysis. He wondered why he was tasked with helping this agent. He seemed to operate like his file suggested: a one man army that needed no one's help.

Heated voices from the transmitter brought Casey out of his thoughts. "We have a woman in the back room that needs interrogating. She was caught trying to get close to one of the higher ups and she's DEA. Think you can get anything out of her?"

"I'm ready for this and I can get the information out of the woman." Casey could hear the excitement in Meadow's voice.

Chuck returned to the van just as everyone was leaving the house and the video showed each man as they left. Chuck started to reel off the names of the men and the former Agencies they worked for as they left the house.

Casey looked on in wonder. Beckman had said Michaels had a photographic memory and he must have studied the file with all suspected Fulcrum members. That was the only explanation.

When Chuck finished identifying all the men, Casey told him that there was a DEA agent being held in the house.

"Michaels, we can't follow them all and we have a chance to save the agent," Casey pointed out. "I'm going in."

Chuck seemed to be thinking it over when Casey jumped out of the van and ran to the house. The younger man got out and followed at a slower pace, determined to provide back up to his impulsive partner. _And slightly moronic,_ Chuck observed, looking back at the conspicuous white panel van. _Don't tell me I'm partnered with John McClane who thinks he can save everyone. _He thought they would be better off following at least one of the men that was at the meeting.

Casey cautiously opened the front door with his gun drawn and peeked around it looking for enemies. Seeing no one in the front room, he slowly entered while Chuck covered the rear of the house waiting for someone to try and flee through the back door.

Casey quietly made his way towards the rooms at the back of the house, listening at each door before carefully opening them and looking inside. When he came to the third door, he heard voices inside, and then a woman's scream after hearing a vicious slap.

Stepping back and kicking the door open, Casey eyed the only male occupant of the room and rushed in and shot him in the arm. Meadows fell to the ground and Casey knocked him unconscious with a blow to the head with his gun.

Looking around at the red headed captive, Casey gave a sigh of disgust. The woman smiled at him. "I knew you couldn't stay away from me Casey. You're my hero."

"Damn it, Carina, if I'd known it was you, I might've let them keep you," Casey growled, while cutting the straps that held her to the chair.

Once free, Carina launched herself at Casey and hugged him so hard he could hardly breathe.

"Let me go. We need to get out of here. Cover him while I bring the van up and find my partner," Casey announced while handing her a gun.

Casey pulled the van up in front of the house and looked around for Michaels. Not seeing him, he reentered the house with a couple of nylon tie wraps to secure Meadows and a bandage for the bullet wound in his arm. He didn't want him bleeding all over the van and dying before he got a chance to question him.

Casey carried the man out and dumped him in the back of the van before telling Carina to get in the passenger seat, hoping no one came back before they could leave.

"Damn it, where are you Michaels?" Casey grunted to himself._ I can't wait here with Carina and a wounded Fulcrum agent. I'd love to shoot it out with those traitorous bastards but now is not the time. _Casey thought for a moment, and decided to go back to where they had parked and see if Michaels returned.

Just as he was about to pull away, the back door opened and a dark shadow pulled himself inside, closing the door behind him.

Casey just had time to look in the rear view mirror and with the aid of a little light afforded by a street light, he saw two glowing black eyes and the barrel of a P229 staring him down.

"Leaving without me, Major Casey?" a cold, indifferent voice spoke.

Carina whirled around at the voice and a shiver ran down her spine at the thinly veiled threat.

"Wouldn't think of it. Just getting our passengers and then I was going to go back and wait for you," Casey growled back. "Where were you?"

"Someone had to cover your back. Your feelings are going to get you killed, Major." Chuck snarked.

Casey turned and fixed an angry stare at Michaels. _Did he just imply I was…emotional? First he calls me an amateur and now this._

Carina tried to see the new arrival, but all she saw were gleaming black eyes that never seemed to blink. Another shiver ran down her spine. "Is this your new partner, Casey?"

"That's him. Let's get to base," Casey popped the van into gear and speeding toward the address Beckman had given him.

Xxx

"Agent Walker, very nice to meet you," Peter Samuels, ex-NSA, said when he entered the room. His impeccable suit and well cut hair indicated he was not a foot soldier but one of the higher ups she had so much wanted to capture.

"I'd say the same but I'm not really in a position to say that right now," Sarah replied, fighting to keep the look of hostility off her face. She felt only disgust when looking at the two Fulcrum agents.

"It's for your own protection and ours right now. Your own agency has flagged you as rogue and issued a sanction on you. We can help you but we need to be sure you can be trusted," Samuels stated.

"If you don't trust me then why did you bring me here?" Sarah demanded.

Samuels thought for a moment before responding. "The chance to recruit the great Sarah Walker. We would be fools to not take the chance. What happened? Why did they flag you as rogue? Why did they issue a sanction on you?"

Sarah studied the man's face, deciding the truth was the only way to get them to trust her. They probably already knew what happened in L.A.

"They killed my asset, a man I cared deeply about, and they wanted me to come in before I tracked down General Beckman and killed the bitch," Sarah's words were venomous, looking Samuels straight in the eyes.

"I heard about that. It was a cluster - terrorists captured him and rather than try to rescue him, they opted for the easy way and killed him." Samuels hadn't heard the whole story but he needed her to think he had. "Go on."

"You've heard of the Intersect project? My asset was involved and John Casey and I were his handlers and protectors. We became very close and they killed him," Sarah's eyes became wet with unshed tears. Even now the thought of Chuck dead still had this effect on her.

"What else can you tell me about the Intersect project?" Samuels asked.

"Only that with him dead, it's over. The Intersect is no more. It was blown up and destroyed." She didn't want to tell him Chuck was the Intersect; they might think his brain was a family anomaly and go after Ellie.

"What else can you tell us about current missions directed toward Fulcrum?"

"Not much. I've been off grid for over three weeks but I'll tell you anything you want to know. Can you take these off now?" Sarah pleaded.

A sickly smile spread across his face. "I'll be back soon. I need to check out your story. If what you told me checks out, I'll have a few more questions and maybe even a mission that you can help us with."

Xxx

The ride to the warehouse was quiet. Casey kept looking in the rear view mirror, ostensibly to check for a tail but also to keep an eye on his partner. He didn't really trust him or know what to make of him; he sat in the very back corner with his gun in his hand aimed at all of them at the same time. His unblinking eyes seemed to look right through everyone in the van.

Casey was looking for the warehouse when Chuck spoke for the first time since the ride began. "Take the next right, third building on the left. Pull up to the warehouse door. It'll be unlocked. Once inside, drive to the north end of the building. The entrance to the base is there."

"How do you know all this? I only got the address a couple of hours ago." Casey asked with a snarl.

Chuck really had no idea how he knew all of this so he stayed silent. There were so many things he seemed to instinctively know: the location of this safe base and the general layout of it, the codes to activate the elevator down to the sub basement where the safe base actually was. The entire blueprint for the facility was imprinted in his mind. He didn't know if he'd ever been there before but with most things lately it was familiar.

Casey just grunted in response to Chuck's silence. Pulling up to the entrance, he got out and hauled up the partitioned door. He motioned for Carina to move to the driver's seat and she maneuvered the van inside. When the van came to a stop, he closed and locked the entry door behind them. Casey got in the passenger seat and directed Carina to drive to the north end of the building. He could only see a series of decrepit and dusty offices. _Beckman wants us to work out of here? It's a dump, not well equipped or maintained. There is no security or even decent lighting. _

When the van stopped in front of the old offices, Chuck opened the back door, jumped out and walked up to the nearest block wall. Pulling his cell phone out, he input the code 7676361. The block wall slowly slid to the side revealing what appeared to be a vehicle sized elevator car.

Chuck just turned and waited for the van to pull in before he pressed the code to the basement level, his expression as cold and impassive as before. Casey resisted showing surprise as Carina's eyes went wide with wonder.

"Move it," Chuck barked, trying to get her attention to pull the van inside the elevator for the ride down.

She got her first look at him in the light. _He's cute. This might be fun._

Carina spoke for only the second time since this man had gotten into the van earlier. "Well, aren't you moving a little fast? We just met and you're already taking me back to your place," Carina smirked. Chuck just stood and stared at her for a few seconds.

The name Carina Hansen, DEA, flashed into his mind, nothing else. After recognizing so many other Fulcrum Agents earlier in the night and seeing their entire file, Chuck was glad she was a footnote. Just a name, nothing else. He had a killer headache but was able to mostly ignore it so far.

Chuck waited while the door closed and the elevator started to descend before addressing the DEA agent, who was starting to open her door. "Agent Hansen, please wait in the vehicle."

Carina's face showed her shock. He knew her name. "Do we know each other?" she asked as she looked at him closer. Short cropped black hair and trimmed beard. Not something she liked in her partners but it looked good on him.

Chuck just glanced at her with cold black eyes before turning back to the front of the elevator, waiting for the doors to open.

Carina reluctantly moved back into the van, and closed her door.

"Michaels, we need to report to Beckman." Casey was getting impatient, and he didn't like not being in control. He got out of the van and moved to stand beside the agent.

"As soon as we put this man in a cell, I'll show you to the conference room," Chuck replied without turning to look at him.

When the doors opened, Chuck strode ahead and did not look back.. "Wait here. I'll get something with wheels so you don't have to carry him all the way." Not waiting for an answer, Chuck disappeared around the corner.

"Casey, who the hell is this guy?" Carina was fairly certain she had not met this agent before. I think I would remember him, she thought

"Agent Michaels, super agent and super prick," Casey replied with a snarl.

Chuck returned with a gurney and a syringe. He injected the man in the arm. "Let's get him to a cell and then report to the General. I'll show you where the cells are and where there's a bathroom so you can clean up," he said, while looking in Carina's direction.

After depositing Meadows in the cell and Carina used the bathroom, they were all sitting in the conference room staring at the imposing face of General Beckman on the wall sized LCD screen.

Beckman wasted no time and opened the conference with a disparaging tone, leveling a fierce glare at the men.

"Agent Michaels. Major Casey. Why is this woman there?"

Xxx

A/N: Hope you enjoy. If not let me know how I can get better.

Thanks to all the readers who left reviews and all who put alerts on my last story, I hope you like this too. I love you, not as much as I love Sarah but close, actually not even close but thanks.

PS: Please read and review. The more reviews I get the quicker I'll post the next chapter. Just kidding, maybe.


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own Chuck or anybody else in the Chuck world. I have a birthday coming up so maybe.**

**A/N: I have to express my gratitude to jagged1 for the beta and tireless work she put in on this, without it and her insistence that I get my ass in gear this chapter might still be getting tweaked by me until the next millennium.**

**I forgot last chapter to thank DLK for his help in solidifying my storyline and his suggestions and comments. I beg forgiveness. They always say it is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask permission. Ha-Ha.**

**If you like this in any small part it's because of her and if you don't it's because I didn't listen to her enough. Behind every successful man is a brilliant woman.**

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and I hope you enjoy this. Please leave a review.

Xxx

Chapter 4

Xxx

Carina entered the conference room and noticed Chuck staring intently at the computer equipment. Oddly, the expression on his face reminded her of the look men got on their faces when…no, that couldn't be it he was looking at a computer for God sakes, not a woman.

She shrugged it off, and her eyes shifted, taking in the computers, servers, and then to the well stocked armory; she'd never been in an NSA bunker environment before so it was all new to her. She felt somewhat better after being able to get cleaned up in the bunker facilities. She'd washed her face and combed her hair, pulling it into a pony tail. There were still bruises on her face, but she didn't have her makeup bag or most if not all of the bruises would be hidden. The black eye would probably still be visible but not noticeably.

Carina saw that Casey was in the midst of a heated debate with his superior officer.

"General, we can learn more from a rescued deep cover agent than we could ever learn from a captured Fulcrum Agent," Casey reasoned.

When Chuck had entered the conference room, he had looked at the equipment and flashed. The amount of data flowing into his brain caused him to shut down for a minute.

When Chuck came out of his flash he noticed that Carina has joined them and he could hear Major Casey explaining to the General why they now had a third agent in the bunker.

He decided not to get involved in this dialogue_. Agents have been sacrificed for the greater good before, what's one more. _Michaels wondered.

Chuck sat with a stoic look on his face, staring intently at the computer equipment. He tuned out the conversation going on in the room. More images suddenly began to flash through his mind. He saw an NSA satellite that could be used to enhance and extend the range of the GPS transmitters he'd fashioned with parts from a Buy More. The more he thought about it, the more images appeared and he was suddenly certain that it would work.

Carina decided it was best to keep her mouth shut for the moment and let Casey and the General continue their disagreement. Besides, she was much more interested in the other agent in the room. She sneaked a peek at Agent Michaels and wondered what he hid behind his dark facade. He was kinda cute and she couldn't wait to find out.

Chuck stood and walked to the computer console. With the enhanced power of the NSA's computer setup he was able to triangulate the position of one of the GPS transmitters he'd planted on the cars in front of the house where Casey had saved Agent Hanson.

"It was something we needed to do," Casey was explaining when Chuck interrupted him.

"General, we still have a viable target. Using the available satellite feed, I have a fix on one of the cars, the other three are out of range but as they move around the city we might be able to get a fix on them before the battery runs out. I suggest an operation on this; the car is currently sitting outside a building owned by Prymial Peripherals."

Chuck glanced at the other agents and continued. "It's a shell company, fronting as a video game company. The first floor is actually occupied by game programmers during the day but the top three floors are used by Fulcrum. According to thermal imaging, there are only three people on site right now. I should be able to slip in and plant a Trojan on their servers."

Beckman smiled, thinking of how the grand plan was coming together: the demise of Fulcrum.

"What have you found out from Meadows? Does he have any knowledge of this facility?" Beckman asked.

"We haven't had a chance to question him yet," Casey answered.

"Planting the Trojan is of utmost importance. Bar … Agent Michaels, can you plant it without them finding out?" Beckman asked.

"Yes, General, it's a simple program. I only need ten minutes to install it. I doubt their security will be enough to keep me out."

"The interrogation can wait. I need to speak with Agent Michaels alone. Please wait outside," Beckman stated. She leveled a pointed stare at Casey and Carina.

When the door closed, Beckman narrowed her eyes and looked at Chuck. "Can she be trusted? Is she associated with anyone that is affiliated with Fulcrum or suspected of being involved with them?"

"All I know is her name, Carina Hansen, DEA."

_How shortsighted of me. If we've removed everything from his mind before the operation, he is blind to anyone he knew or met. He shouldn't have even remembered her name. We'll have to update him. I need to fix that._

"No ma'am, she's DEA and therefore less likely to have been recruited. Major Casey seems to have a history with her. If she's suspect he might be too," Chuck replied with a smirk.

"Good enough. Call them back in?"

When they were all seated again, Beckman looked at Carina. "Agent Hansen, I don't know if you've heard of Fulcrum. Agent Michaels and Major Casey are on a deep cover assignment and therefore I am their only contact. Since you've already seen this base and know too much, I'm offering you a chance to help us. The only other option is a bunker until it's over."

"I've heard of the fight with Fulcrum and I trust Casey. I would like very much to help. " She was hoping that she might be able to help find closure for Sarah.

"Very well, welcome aboard. Agent Hansen will accompany you while you plant the Trojan," Beckman said. "I'll expect a full report in two hours time."

"Understood, General," all three echoed.

Xxx

Casey looked around the base armory. There were so many weapons he didn't know which one he wanted to fondle first. There was the newMP8 with not only the laser sight but the dead man technology that could sense body heat.

Carina sat looking at Chuck still at the computer terminal, calling up the building schematics after he'd directed Casey to the weapons. He still hadn't really looked at her and only spoke to her once.

"So Agent Michaels, what do your friends call you?" Carina asked as she walked over and rubbed his arm.

Chuck's black eyes melted back to a soft brown and when he looked at her he stammered. "I … I … I don't have any friends, Agent Hansen."

When she rubbed his arm, he felt so nervous and inadequate. Here was a beautiful woman touching him and looking at him with lust in her eyes.

Carina continued to rub his arm thinking he's shy. _This is going to be so much fun_, she thought. She loved a challenge.

She laughed softly and flashed her eyelashes. "You can call me Carina."

"Okay."

"Do you have a first name? People must call you something," Carina cooed continuing to rub her body up against his arm.

"It's Carson, but I can't remember anyone ever calling me that. I guess people call me Agent Michaels," Chuck tried to maneuver himself away from her.

"Well, Carson, that's kind of sexy. We're going to be spending a lot of time together and I'd really like to get to know you better," Carina moved closer to him again and rubbed her body against his.

"I don't think that would be appropriate," Chuck said as Casey came back into the room.

Chuck transformed back into cold Agent Michaels and his eyes once again flashed black. Carina noticed how odd it was that his face lost all of its softness.

"We have a mission to prepare for. Agent Hansen, I suggest you go get suited up and meet us at the van," Chuck's voice was cold again, and he concentrated on the computer.

Carina looked at him and wondered where the cute, nervous man went; in his place was the impassive agent again.

As Carina left the room to get ready, Chuck looked at Casey. "This is a stealth mission. We're only going to implant the Trojan and leave. Do you really think we need all that firepower? There are only three people in the building."

"Can't be too careful. More people might show up," Casey smirked, hoping he'd get a chance to use his new toys.

"Remember, I'm the only one who's going in. You and Agent Hansen will be back up. We don't want to alert them. Stay in the van, Casey." Again, he didn't know why he chuckled at that phrase.

Xxx

Sarah was still sitting in the chair looking at her captor. "Do you think I could use the bathroom? I've been tied up here for quite a while."

"You'll have to wait until Samuels comes back. Sorry," he said, looking like he really was sorry.

"Could you please go ask him? I really need to go," Sarah plastered a helpless smile on her face that had melted the hearts of many a man.

"I'll go check," he replied with a smile of his own.

When he left Sarah pulled on the bonds securing her, and used an old trick Casey had taught her. Dislocating her thumb and pulling her hand through the rope, she found it was very painful but it worked. Once her right hand was free, she reached for the knife on her thigh that they hadn't found and cut the remaining ropes.

She shook her head at their ineptitude; they should have used nylon zip ties. It would've been much more difficult to get out of them but Casey had even taught her a trick to get out of those if necessary.

She tipped the chair over and after trying the door, she positioned herself behind it, waiting for it to open. The first one in would feel her wrath for making her wait.

Xxx

Chuck had picked up some toys, too, before leaving for the office building. He took a key pad reader and swipe card simulator: a few more gadgets he might need to spoof the servers.

Chuck directed Casey to the office building.

"Stay in the van," he said as he climbed out. _Why do I find that so funny?_

Chuck made his way to the side door and deactivated the sensor before opening it. "Are you tracking me, Casey?" The camera attached to his head gear should've been showing his progress.

"Got a clear picture. Just remember one hint of trouble and we're coming in," Casey growled, hoping he might get to use one of the new toys.

'This isn't a 'smash and grab' it's a 'plant and disappear'. We don't want them to know we were here," Chuck growled back. "I have to get to the servers on the second floor and I'll be done in ten minutes. Keep the engine running."

Chuck sprinted to the inner door and attached one of the devices to it, checking for other alarms besides the visual ones. Finding there were none, he attached the key pad reader and after finding the correct sequence, swiped his card. The door clicked open and he carefully opened it, looking around the door frame. Seeing no one in the hall, he quickly entered and made his way to the stairs and the second floor.

"Casey I'm in. I'm going to plant the Trojan and be back shortly."

Casey and Carina watched as Chuck made his way out of the stairwell and down the hall, looking in each room he came to. Finally, he entered a room filled with electronics.

Chuck went directly to a rack and began fiddling with connections on the back of it, placing items from his bag in different slots and connectors. Then, he moved around the front and sat at a chair and began typing at a quick rate while several windows opened and closed. He then plugged in a flash drive and after the progress bar finished its track across the screen, he pulled the drive back out and again typed several commands. Once satisfied, he cleared the screen and stood.

"Done here, Casey. I'll be down in a minute. I need to get back to base and start downloading data."

After an affirmative grunt, Casey shut down his mike and sat back, watching the monitor closely as Chuck made his way back out the way he'd gone in.

"Casey?" Carina began. "I heard about what happened in Burbank. I'm sorry. Chuck seemed like a nice guy."

Casey grunted and she knew he didn't want to talk about it. But she did.

"Casey I never understood what exactly you and Sarah were doing there, protecting him. Was he that important?" Carina asked.

"How did you find out about it? It wasn't like it was front page news."

"Sarah called me right after it happened. It destroyed her, and she loved him, you know?"

"That's why spies shouldn't fall in love," Casey said softly while looking her in the eye.

The back door opened and Chuck climbed in. "Let's go. We all have work to do."

The ride back to the warehouse was quiet except for the sound of Chuck tapping various keys on a small phone-like device.

Xxx

The door opened and the man entered, rushing in when he saw the chair laying on its side. Sarah quickly grabbed him and put her knife to his throat. "Call Samuels. Either we settle this now or I leave."

"You can let him go, Agent Walker," Samuels said as he strode into the room. "I understand you need to use the facilities. We'll talk when you're done. This way please," he said, pointing down the hallway.

Xxx

"I believe you have an interrogation to begin, Casey. I've got to get the download started and set up the video feeds to see if we can identify anyone," Chuck didn't let his eyes move from the monitor he was studying.

Casey grunted before leaving the room.

"Do you want me to keep you company?" Carina said with a laugh, while rubbing his shoulders.

Chuck suddenly felt so shy. She was rubbing his shoulders and it felt like a junior high dance. He reverted to his nerd persona. He started to stammer. "Th … that's okay, I … I have work to do. Why don't you get some rest?"

The screen lit up and Beckman wasted no time with pleasantries. "Please report your status. Have you found anything?" She eyed Carina with her hands on Chuck's shoulders.

Chuck flashed again and was suddenly all business and articulate. "Ma'am, we just got back. Casey just left to begin his interrogation and I'm about to download what I can from their servers and tap into their video feeds. Considering the time in DC, unless we find something very important, I suggest a briefing in the morning."

Signing off, Beckman once again looked through narrowed eyes at how Carina was standing very close to Chuck. _If this continues I might have to put her in a bunker to keep him safe._

Carina still had her hands on Chuck's shoulders and he once again became the stammering, unsure individual. "There are rooms set up down the hall, Agent Hansen. Go … go get some rest."

Carina pulled her hands from his shoulders and walked around in front of him so she could look him in the eye. She'd seen at least three different variations of him. She wanted answers. "Who are you, Agent Michaels?"

Chuck looked at her and whispered cryptically, "I am Legion."

Carina cocked her head to the side and looked at him, wondering what he was talking about. He made no sense sometimes and she'd only known him less than six hours.

"I'll see you in the morning, Carson."

Chuck looked at her. "Good night … Carina."

Carina's smile expanded when he used her name.

Xxx

Sarah came out of the bathroom looking for her inevitable escort. The same man she'd held at knifepoint was leaning against the wall with a scowl on his face.

"Hope I didn't get you into too much trouble? I really had to go. What's your name?" Sarah asked.

"It's Mike, Mike Edwards." He answered with a blush. No one this beautiful had ever even talked to him before.

"Well, Mike, let's get to the meeting," Sarah used her brightest smile.

Mike led her to an elevator, glancing over his shoulder to make sure she was still there. Her brilliant smile continued as they took the elevator to the fourth floor where he would have to leave her in the company of Samuels and other members of Fulcrum.

Xxx

Chuck had set up the download and the video. It would take a while and he'd review it in the morning. He was so tired and the lure of his nightly visit with his blonde Angel made him make his way to a room for a nap. Casey could handle Meadows.

He was staring into the most brilliant blue eyes again. She was speaking but if not for her mouth moving he wouldn't have known. Her sensuous lips were forming words but that wasn't what he concentrated on. He only knew he wanted to press his lips to hers and make contact with her tongue. The only problem was she was always just out of reach. If he could only hear what she said? The shine in her eyes always ended with sadness and then tears. He wanted to comfort her, but just when she was within reach, he would wake in a sweat with tears in his own eyes.

Carina woke to a noise that sounded like a cry for help. Making her way to the room next to hers, she found Chuck shaking and crying out. She sat on the side of the bed and held him stroking his head, and telling him it would be okay. She knew about nightmares - she'd had them but never like this. He was muttering and she couldn't understand what he said.

"Carson, it's going to be okay," Carina cooed.

Chuck looked at her through tear filled eyes.

"Would it help if I just held you for a while?" Carina asked.

Chuck nodded, not trusting his voice.

Carina pulled the blankets over them and held him. "I'm here, don't worry. Go back to sleep."

Chuck looked at her and closed his eyes, falling into a light sleep.

Carina put her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat and steady breathing. The musky smell was intoxicating and she was asleep within seconds.

Chuck instinctively put his arm around her and pulled her even closer.

Xxx

Sarah sat at the end of the table with a bright light behind the other people in the room. The light cast such a shadow on their faces that she couldn't really see them.

A voice spoke from beyond the light. "We have a mission for you. It will be your test to see if you can be trusted."

"What is it?" Sarah asked.

"We want you to kill General Beckman," the voice said.

"Will this be my initiation?" Sarah asked, thinking how Beckman had given the command that killed her Chuck.

"We have her schedule for the next week. Do this and there will never be a question as to your loyalty again."

Sarah thought about it for a moment. "Where and when?"

"She will be attending her grand-daughter's graduation. Nothing as garish as a rifle shot, the method will be explained to you later."

"Like I said, where and when?" They could see Sarah's eyes cloud over with hate.

"We will give you all the information when it's needed. For now, you will stay here. No outside contact allowed."

"Understood. Can I get a change of clothes?" Sarah asked.

"Your bag has been brought here and Edwards will be waiting outside to show you to your room. Please stay there and do not try to leave," Samuels said as he showed her to the door.

Xxx

Chuck was dreaming again but this time he could feel the heat from his Angel's body and his arms were around her, his face nuzzled in her hair. He woke quickly when he realized the smell of her shampoo was not right and he was in the spoon position but the red hair that greeted his eyes made him slowly extricate his arms and rise from the bed.

Carina felt the movement of the bed when Chuck got out. She turned to look at him, and smiled. "Morning, lover. We don't have to get up yet."

"I'm sorry, Carina. What happened?" Chuck asked in a shy voice.

"You were wonderful, lover," Carina teased.

Chuck's eyes went wide and he backed up until his back hit the wall. "I … I …I …," he stammered.

"Relax, Carson, I'm just having some fun. You were having a nightmare and needed someone. Nothing happened," Carina smirked.

Chuck looked at the floor. "I've got work to do." Grabbing his clothes, he ran out the door.

Xxx

Chuck was scrolling through the video when Casey entered the room with a grunt. He looked up and flashed reverting to the cold Agent Michaels.

"Is there any coffee?" Casey asked.

"Over there. I just made it," Chuck answered. "Did Meadows tell you anything useful?"

Casey looked over at Chuck, amused at the younger man. _He's not as tense as he was yesterday. Maybe Carina put the cuffs on him and worked him over_.

"He doesn't know anything very low level. He didn't even know the names of all the people in the house," Casey shrugged.

"Are you sure you asked the right questions?"

"Have a go if you think you can do better," Casey was pissed that his ability was being questioned by this punk.

Carina entered the room as Chuck replied. "I think I will." Then, he walked out the door ignoring the looks on their faces.

"What was that all about?" Carina asked.

"He thinks I don't know how to interrogate a suspect," Casey growled.

"What's his story?" Carina gazed at Casey, studying his reaction to the question.

"You know as much as I do. Super Agent, almost a ghost, rumors abound but no one ever believed them."

"What did you do to him? The way he acts around you is so different from when you're not there. Did you piss in his corn flakes?" Carina laughed.

"I don't know, but I want to see how he handles the interrogation." Casey said as he grabbed his coffee and headed out the door.

Carina grabbed a coffee and followed Casey to watch the interrogation. Standing on the other side of the one way glass, they watched Chuck enter the room.

Chuck approached the agent, observing the bruises starting to form on Meadow's face. The way he was breathing alerted him that Casey had also delivered many body blows. He stood and looked at the man for a minute, waiting for him to ask why he was here and say he didn't know anything.

"I already told the big guy everything I know," Meadows said with a small smile. These government types, no guts, he thought. Meadows knew he could stand a beating, even sodium pentothal and its derivatives

"I think you know more than you told him. I won't be as pleasant," Chuck stated as he pulled his gun from its holster.

"You're going to threaten to kill me? I know you won't do that."

"I'm not going to kill you, even if you beg me. I'm going to shoot off every appendage you have," Chuck growled.

Meadows looked into Chuck's black eyes and didn't know whether to believe him or not. Government agents didn't do that a beating yes, but real torture was left to the other side.

"Shall we start with your pinky?" Chuck grabbed Meadow's hand and pressed his gun to it.

Meadows looked on apprehensively but kept his mouth shut.

"I'll start with the end. That way there'll be three shots on each finger," Chuck said as he pulled the trigger.

Standing on the other side of the one-way glass, Casey and Carina jumped when they heard the gun go off. They'd both assumed it was a bluff and he'd continue to threaten before backing off and trying another way.

Meadows looked down with tears in his eyes and a grimace on his face, finally looking at the blood on the table and his pinkie that was missing the end from the first knuckle.

"Care to comment on where we can find the rest of your friends you were with tonight or shall we move up a knuckle?" Chuck asked with a cold look on his face.

"You can't do this. There are rules you have to follow," Meadows cried.

"You killed your partner and sold out your country. There are no longer any rules. Let's try the next knuckle," Chuck pressed his gun to his hand once again.

"That is one cold hearted bastard," Casey stated, watching through the glass.

"You can't let him do this." Carina's voice quivered. She had never seen a government agent act this way.

"You've seen him. I don't think we could stop him if we tried."

"This isn't the man I saw last night after you left. He seemed so gentle. Is it all and act?" Carina asked, as she stared at the scene in front of her.

"Don't know, this is all I've ever seen from him."

Meadows was sobbing now and thrashing about, as much as he could while being bound. "Okay…okay, what do you want to know?"

"I want to know where I can find the rest of the people at the meeting last night. I also want to know every contact you've had since joining Fulcrum." Chuck demanded. "Remember, you still have many more fingers, toes and another appendage that you might not want me to shoot off."

Meadows started to reel off addresses of safe houses between cries of pain.

"Are you getting this, Casey?" Chuck asked over his shoulder toward the one way glass.

Casey quickly pressed the record button, wondering how he knew he was here. If he could see the look of horror on Carina's face at this moment, he didn't know if he'd react at all.

Casey pressed the intercom button and confirmed that he was recording.

Carina's phone chirped, alerting her to an incoming text message. After reading it, she quickly excused herself and went back to her room for privacy.

Casey had a scowl on his face. He'd done his best and thought Meadows knew nothing. _Maybe I'm getting too old for this shit._

Meadows continued to recite locations of drop zones and meeting places. The first place he'd said was Prymial Peripherals, followed by several safe houses.

He finally started to reveal agents that were not even suspected of being Fulcrum. Chuck flashed on the first name and called for Casey to get in here and get the rest.

Xxx

Chuck pressed the controls to connect with Beckman and then began to recite the name he recognized that Meadows had revealed to him.

"He's still talking; there'll be more names later. I felt I should warn you immediately, Colonel Walters is one of the names. He's one of the men tasked with your security. I suggest he be taken into custody right away."

"Are you certain? Did you flash on his name?"

"What? Flash?" Chuck asked.

"I meant did you recall his file?" Beckman clarified.

Chuck looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Something didn't seem right. "Yes ma'am, I saw his file. There have been irregularities in his bank accounts for the last year."

"Thank you, Agent, I'll have him picked up right away and let you know if there is any new information that will help you. That is all."

Chuck sat and stared at the black screen, trying to recall the conversation he'd just had with Beckman and how he'd 'flashed' as she called it on the files of Colonel Walters and all of the people he'd seen at the house.

_Flash?_ He thought. _What the hell is a flash?_

Xxx

Casey entered the room after Chuck left. "Please continue, Meadows."

"Agent David Young….and." Meadows gasped for a breath. He looked down at the pool of blood on the floor, and went on. "Agent Sarah Walker. She's CIA, I think."

Casey tried to hide the anger and feeling of betrayal that hit him. Damn Sarah Walker!

Casey couldn't believe it. She'd been his partner and he'd never even suspected. It sort of made sense now, the way the terrorists grabbed Bartowski. He'd thought she was in love with the nerd and her actions after his death had all but confirmed it for him.

Now he knew why she'd taken off, back to her Fulcrum masters.

Not only would he enjoy putting a bullet in Evans head but he'd save a bullet for Sarah Walker, a turncoat and traitor to her country. He'd actually believed her act when Chuck had been killed. She was the ultimate honey trap.

Xxx

A/N: Hope you enjoy. If not let me know how I can get better.

Thanks to all the readers who left reviews and all who put alerts on my last story, I hope you like this too. I love you, not as much as I love Sarah but close, actually not even close but thanks.

PS: Please read and review. The more reviews I get the quicker I'll post the next chapter. Just kidding, maybe.


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own Chuck or anybody else in the Chuck world. I have a birthday coming up next week, I've asked for it many times so maybe. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.**

**A/N: I have to express my gratitude to jagged1 once again for the beta and tireless work she put in on this. I've run out of superlatives to tell you how wonderful she is. If you like this in any small part it's because of her and if you don't it's because I didn't listen to her enough. Behind every successful man is a brilliant woman.**

**In the haste to get chapter 4 out, I forgot to apologize for the lateness of it. Therefore I'm posting this early and hopefully another next Friday.**

**I once again must thank DLK for his help in solidifying my storyline with his suggestions and comments. Without his help I might've ended up killing Chuck. Oh wait, I did do that. Ha-Ha. Don't blame him that was before.**

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and I hope you enjoy this. Please leave a review.

A/N 2: To njdevil9, this is the chapter you were waiting for. Sorry for the long wait but I needed to progress the story first. Also, I always wanted to do a 'flashback'. Actually my whole last story was technically a flashback but this was still cool. Enjoy.

Xxx

Chapter 5

Xxx

_In the end, it was the silence that finally brought relief to her heart. They barely spoke and when they did it always seemed to be in a whisper. For a person like her who was used to gunshots and explosions it was a change. The comforting thing was how the people here seemed to care about her and wanted to help her deal with her loss._

_When Sister Marie had found her at the back of the church sitting in a pew sobbing, she'd sat down beside her and offered to listen to her. At first, Sarah could barely talk about how she felt but with gentle prodding and smiles that showed her that they truly cared, it became easier. _

_When asked her name, she was about to reply with her real name but instead said "Sarah". That was the name she was using when Chuck fell in love with her and the name she was using when she fell in love with him._

_The old saying goes 'A man will love the woman he's with while a woman is with the man she loves'. Deep down she knew there would never be another Chuck. Only poor substitutes, never another to love her like he did._

_She hadn't been in a church since her mother died. It was then that she decided God wasn't fair if he took her mother from her when she was so young and needed her so much. Now he'd taken another person she loved so much, but after stumbling into the church after leaving Chuck's grave, they took one look at her shattered soul and reached out to her. They explained that sometimes in God's infinite wisdom, a person was released from his earthly body to save them from pain._

_It made some sense to her, but she still didn't know why Chuck had to be taken from her just when she'd finally found her one and only true love and been ready to commit to him._

_The first days there she cried almost from the time she opened her eyes in the morning until she fell asleep at night. Never having been a religious person, she had a hard time accepting everything. By the third day, with the help of Sister Marie through prayers and silent introspection, she felt better. She still missed Chuck so much: his automatic smile whenever he saw her and his soft brown eyes that always looked at her with so much hope for a future with her. She'd resisted for so long but he'd burrowed into her heart so deep that she was sure the wound would never heal, it would only scab over to be picked raw every time she thought of him._

_She finally accepted that it wasn't anything she'd done that made God decide to make her suffer. People left for the afterlife every day. Many people left everyday and she'd helped some of them to leave._

_Chuck lived on in her and everyone who ever thought of him. He was so wonderful that she was sure he would live on this way for a long time to come. She knew she would never forget him and she would never love another like she loved Chuck. _

_Sister Marie told her to be thankful that she had whatever time with him and how her life might still be empty if she'd never loved him. When she prayed and spoke to God and to Chuck it somehow lifted her spirit. _

_On the morning of the fifth day, she knew it was time to leave. She had things to do and a sister to visit. She'd run out on her because she couldn't deal with it, but now she still wasn't sure if she could help but she wanted to be there for Ellie. _

_She wanted Ellie to know how much she loved Chuck and how devastated she'd felt and how sorry she was for not being there to help her deal with her own loss. Ellie loved Chuck too and it was just as hard for her if not harder._

_Xxx_

_Ellie's head jerked up and she stopped in her tracks at hearing her name whispered from the darkness._

_Sarah hesitantly stepped out of the shadows, unsure how she would be received. She ran to her when Ellie opened her arms and called to her._

"_I'm so sorry for leaving but I couldn't stay and face you," Sarah cried, hugging her tightly, her legs feeling weak, not sure if she could stand on her own._

"_It's okay Sarah, I know how hard it was for you but I wish you'd been here. We needed each other," Ellie said softly with tears coming to her eyes._

"_I miss him so much," Sarah choked on the words and tears streamed down her face. Ellie led her into the apartment and sat next to her on the sofa._

"_I miss him too. But I miss you just as much, Sarah."_

_Five minutes passed before either woman could speak. They both sobbed uncontrollably._

_Finally, Ellie pulled back and looked at Sarah. "Please stay, at least for a little while? We need each other."_

"_I can't, Ellie. I only came to tell you how much I loved Chuck and beg your forgiveness."_

"_What do I need to forgive you for?" Ellie asked._

_Sarah knew she couldn't tell Ellie the truth about how Chuck really died. She looked deep into her eyes and said what she felt. "I should have been there for him. If I'd been there for him, he'd still be here."_

"_You can't blame yourself Sarah; if you'd been with him you'd be gone too."_

_Sarah looked at Ellie and decided to at least tell her some of the truth. "I loved him, Ellie but I was afraid to tell him. I never told him I loved him. Not once, not ever." _

_The stricken look on Sarah's face was all Ellie needed to know she was telling the truth. Her puffy eyes, quivering voice and the utter look of devastation on her face._

"_Everyone knew how much you loved him. We could all tell by how you looked at him. The way your smile got so big when you saw him and the way your eyes lit up. I'm sure he knew."_

"_I hope so, Ellie, I really hope so." Sarah clutched Ellie's shoulder._

_They held each other for another five minutes, crying, moving apart only when the door opened and Devon entered._

"_Sarah, thank God, we were so worried about you. You left so quickly," Devon moved to the sofa and kneeled, pulling both women into an Awesome hug. _

_Sarah started to cry again. She'd not only lost her soul mate but she'd hurt her family so much by running away. _

"_I'm sorry." were the only words that she seemed to be able to say for the next while._

"_Please stay with us, Sarah." Ellie begged._

"_I can't. Everything reminds me of Chuck," Sarah glanced around the room, noticing the dinner table, the DVDs stacked in a pile on a shelf, and the cereal boxes lined up on top of the refrigerator. She stood. "I have to go."_

"_Please, promise me that you'll come back. I really need my little sister."_

"_I promise I'll never get over Chuck, but when I get my head together, I'll come back." Sarah said. 'When I've killed Evans,' Sarah thought._

_Sarah gave Ellie and Devon one last long hug before heading to the door._

'_I'll never forget you. If I don't make it back, please forgive me,' Sarah thought as she gave one last look over her shoulder and went out the door._

_Xxx_

Casey had sent the recordings of Meadow's recital of names and places to Fort Meade for further analysis. Beckman was shocked to say the least at some of them, as had Casey been. When Sarah Walker's name had been spoken, Beckman had gone ballistic. Cursing in three languages, only two of which Casey knew and he knew curse words in many languages.

"God damn CIA," Beckman growled. "She must've been Evan's weapon. I now wonder what she found out that we never knew. I always thought something was going on behind that pretty face. You are authorized to 'terminate on sight', Major."

"Thank you, General," Casey replied with a smile before disconnecting.

Xxx

Chuck woke with a start; he was alone. His blonde Angel had again visited his dreams. He so wished she was here so he could comfort her. It always started with her brilliant smile and ended with her bone wracking sobs. He didn't know who she was or if she was even real. He only knew that he loved her, had always loved her and would always love her.

Taking a shower and dressing quickly, Chuck made his way out to the conference room. They had a mission today; a warehouse that was formerly controlled by the CIA had become a safe house for Fulcrum. The weapons and equipment stored there only made the mission more imperative. They had to cut off the supply lines. Starve the enemy.

A white van would stand out anywhere, and the bumper sticker from Avis was a dead giveaway. So Chuck had requested two new vehicles to be supplied. They would be waiting for them in a parking lot at a nearby mall.

He thought about specifying a dark colored Porsche. He didn't know why but the thought of it made him feel comfortable, safe and secure.

Xxx

Sarah was awakened by a knock on her door and she quickly jumped up and pulled it open. Mike was standing there and said that she had five minutes to get ready for her meeting to discuss a mission.

She had a quick shower and dressed, ready for what was to be her assignment, giving her the opportunity to prove her loyalty to Fulcrum.

When she was ushered into the meeting room on the fourth floor again, she was subjected to the bright lights that again hindered her from seeing who was there.

"Agent Walker, we have a little mission we need your help with. It is not the assassination of General Beckman that will come later. Right now we need information on a new team that is making life difficult here in L.A. Edwards will take you to your former base and you will access the computers there. Get everything you can on this new team and it will go a long way to proving your loyalty."

Sarah turned and left the room. She knew when she was dismissed.

Xxx

Chuck got out of the van and went to one of the vehicles. The door was unlocked and he picked up two sets of keys.

He tossed the keys to the dark sedan to Casey before walking to the other vehicle, a black SUV. They would leave the van in the parking lot. Beckman would arrange for its return.

Transferring the equipment needed for the mission into the new cars took only a moment. Chuck jumped into his SUV and drove out of the lot to the warehouse they would be checking out.

After Chuck had left in the SUV, Casey called to Carina. "I guess you're with me, let's go."

"He scares me, Casey. I've never met someone so … so," Carina started.

"Cold, impassive, single minded, ruthless, take your pick," Casey grunted.

"Sweet, tender, shy and a gentleman," Carina continued.

"Are we talking about the same person here?" Casey asked.

"It's like he's got multiple personalities; one minute he's sweet and shy. The next minute he's business-like and efficient and then he's cold and ruthless."

"Well, I've never seen the sweet and shy person but I have to admit I've seen him change into the business-like attitude every time Beckman is on the screen."

"His eyes change color when you come into the room, Casey."

"What do you mean, they change color?"

"This morning his eyes were the softest shade of brown but as soon as you entered they changed to black."

"That doesn't make sense."

"Tell me about it. He said something strange last night when I asked him who he really was." Carina said.

"What did he say?" Casey asked, hoping for a little insight into the man who would be his partner for the foreseeable future.

"He said 'I am Legion' then he just gave me a strange look and left the room."

Casey cocked his head to the side and looked at Carina. "Are you sure that's what he said?" Casey asked.

"I'm pretty sure. He said it softly but that's what it sounded like. Why?"

"Have you never been to church?" Casey laughed.

Carina shot him a hurt look and replied. "Not in a long time."

"The term is 'We are Legion, for we are many'. It refers to the bible where Jesus saved a man who was possessed by many demons. It was the answer he got when he asked the man's name."

"How do you know all this?" Carina asked with a smirk.

"I was an altar boy and sang in the choir," Casey returned almost immediately regretting this revelation as Carina laughed out loud.

"Oh, Johnny, I would love to hear you sing."

"Forget you ever heard that," Casey groaned.

"Okay, but that still doesn't really answer my question about why he said that."

"We don't have time to discuss this further, we're here. Where the hell is Michaels?"

Casey's and Carina's ear mics crackled to life and they heard Chuck tell them to wait at the cars.

Casey had pulled the thermal imager from the trunk and was seething at having been told to wait. There were over twenty people in the warehouse. They would need help here. They had superior firepower. He didn't want a repeat of the last time they stormed a Fulcrum nest.

Casey and Carina were so engrossed by the readings; they didn't notice Chuck until he spoke from behind them. "They've got sensors set up all around the warehouse, I've deactivated most of them but I can't get close enough to the thermals."

"Let's call in an air strike," Carina spoke up.

"We can't do that. We need to question some of them. Find out what they know plus we want access to the computers in there," Casey added. "I can get a tactical unit here in a couple hours."

"Call Beckman and request it," Chuck growled. "I'll set up the cameras to photograph anyone leaving before the team gets here."

Xxx

Mike Edwards knocked on Sarah's door and waited for her.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah, let's go I'm ready," Sarah replied.

She followed him down the hall and out of the door. Edwards nervously fingered his gun, he'd never seen such a cold look on anyone's face. He knew if he got in her way he wouldn't survive.

Xxx

Chuck moved stealthily around the thermal sensors that were still active. He held the cameras in a backpack looking for the best place to situate them. He wanted coverage of all the doors and the parking lot. After placing the last camera, he stood and watched as a car pulled away. Something caught his eye: a flash of blonde hair, nothing more.

His ear mic crackled to life and he heard Casey bark, "Beckman wants us out of here now. The tactical unit will handle the takedown. We're back up on this one."

"I don't think so, Casey."

"Damn it, don't argue with me. Get back to the car, Michaels."

'_Get back to the car, Michaels' 'get back to the car Michaels' 'car Michaels' 'Carmichaels' 'Carmichael' 'Carmichael'._

Chuck fell to his knees, holding his head in his hands. Suddenly, the word Beckman had used made sense; he flashed. Images flooded his brain and he cried out in pain. It was like his life was flashing before his eyes but it was not his life. The images flashed so fast he could only fixate on a few.

He heard a soft female voice asking him 'Why, Carmichael' while holding his hand. Then he looked up into the brilliant blue eyes that haunted his dreams, blue eyes that so resembled his Angel's.

Casey and Carina heard the shriek from Chuck and the cries of pain. They checked the GPS and rushed to find him. They found him on his knees, holding his head. Carina fell to her knees and started to check him for wounds while Casey checked the area for a gunmen or anything else that could explain Michael's condition.

Casey returned from his search and asked Carina where he was wounded.

"I can't find anything wrong but he's almost catatonic. I think we need to get him to a doctor."

"We can't do that, we're off grid. No contact with anyone except Beckman," Casey tersely replied. "Help me get him back in the car and we'll get him back to base."

Chuck had slumped into a sitting position, his chin on his chest. His eyes were vacant and he didn't even seem to know they were there. He just stared into nothingness.

Casey and Carina each grabbed an arm and pulled him up and then dragged him to the car. Once there, they laid him across the back seat of the SUV. Casey told Carina to get in and drive; he'd follow and watch for tails in case someone had heard the scream and spotted them.

Xxx

Once back at the base, they took Chuck to the infirmary and put him on a gurney. Chuck still hadn't moved his limbs and hadn't spoken. Carina was pretty sure he hadn't even blinked since they'd found him on the ground.

"Watch him. I'm going to contact Beckman and see if she can send a doctor," Casey explained as he made his way out of the room.

"Make it fast, Casey. I'm worried about him."

Xxx

Casey pressed the button on the console to activate a conference with General Beckman. When she appeared, he told her what had happened and Chuck's current state.

"What happened out there, Major?" Beckman demanded.

"I don't know - is he damaged goods?" Casey asked warily.

"No, he'll be fine. Bring him here and sit him down. I'll have a doctor come in and examine him. I'll wait on-line"

Casey went back to the infirmary and asked if there was any change. Carina shook her head and asked about the doctor. He looked down at the face of Agent Michael's and he felt a tickle in the back of his mind. Something wasn't right, something was familiar. The man laying on the gurney looked so helpless. His eyes were brown, not the dark black he'd always noticed. The rest of his face was covered by the dark, scraggly beard. The eyes, though, were revealing; he didn't look like the cold hearted prick that he'd been subjected to for the last day. Pushing the thoughts aside, Casey shook his head and looked at Carina.

"Let's get him in a wheelchair; it'll be easier than pushing the gurney or dragging him."

"Where are we taking him? Why can't the doctor look at him here?" Carina thought it was too risky to move someone in this condition.

"I don't know- Beckman just said to bring him there," Casey replied.

With Carina's help, Casey plopped Chuck into the wheel chair and pushed it down the hall and into the conference room where Beckman waited on screen with a man standing behind her.

"Please leave the room Major Casey, Agent Hansen."

"I thought you were going to send a doctor here?" Carina asked worriedly.

"Please leave and close the door behind you," Beckman glared.

Xxx

Beckman and Doctor Waters could only observe Chuck's lack of movement via the video feed. He was in a catatonic state. No reaction to anything.

"Can you help him?" Beckman asked.

"I'm not sure - something traumatic must have brought back a memory and his mind couldn't deal with it so it shut down. I warned you this could happen," Waters glanced over at her with a frown.

"Can you fix it? He's just started on this mission and we need him to finish it."

"I can try resetting the Intersect but I have to warn you again, his mind is in a fragile state. It might work, but if this happens again it might not work the next time. He will either never come out of it or become a vegetable or go rogue," Waters warned her.

"Do it. I don't have time for this."

Xxx

Casey asked Carina to go and make coffee; this could be a long night.

Casey was leaning on the wall when the light under the door went out. He was about to move to the door when he saw what looked like a strobe light on steroids going off in the room coming through the slit under the door.

It was hypnotic and he was mesmerized by it. He didn't know how long he stood and looked at it before it stopped and the light came back on. Casey shook his head and looked towards a noise that was coming from down the hall.

Carina was returning with coffee._ How is that possible? She only left ten seconds ago._

Casey stared at her as she handed him his coffee. She tilted her head at him, looking puzzled. "What? You asked me to make the coffee; sorry it took so long, I'm not used to making coffee."

"You only left a few seconds ago," Casey sounded confused.

"Casey, are you alright? You look a little disoriented. I was gone at least fifteen minutes."

Casey was about to answer her when the door opened and Chuck stepped into the hallway and looked at them coldly. "General Beckman wants us to bring the prisoner and leave him for pick up, and then we need to go back and be ready to go in when the unit is there. We leave in ten minutes." He spun on his heel and walked away.

"Help Michaels with the prisoner. Dope him up so he doesn't cause a problem. I need to talk to Beckman." Casey looked at the door way where Michaels had just stood, and then pushed the door open and entered the room, leaving Carina wondering what the hell was going on.

_It's the only explanation Casey thought. Another Intersect and he's not right. He's broken and I don't want to be around when he goes off. It'll be messy. _

Carina strode down the hall, deciding to follow Chuck, after Casey had walked into the conference room and punched the button to bring up Beckman again.

"Yes, Major, what do you need?" Beckman asked.

"Why wasn't I told you created another human Intersect and I would be working with him?"

"Need to know, Major. How did you find out?" Beckman questioned.

"I wasn't sure at all, not until you admitted it. There was something not right about him; he didn't just have a photographic memory. He knew too many things and seemed strange even for a deep cover operative."

"It was needed for our fight with Fulcrum, someone who knows everything."

"He seems totally oblivious to all of it, unlike Bartowski. Agent Michaels seems almost brainwashed, like he has no idea of who he is," Casey glared at his superior officer. Why hadn't he been told about this? He wondered.

"Now that you know, I want you to ride him hard – don't let up for a minute during this entire mission, Major. We need to bring down Fulcrum before he becomes unhinged and unmanageable. I'm not going to apologize for using what was available, a broken man with no memory. We're talking about the security of the United States here and I'll do everything in my power to protect it, as I'm sure you would. It will be your assignment when Fulcrum is no more to terminate him. We can't let another government have him. It's just too dangerous."

Casey pondered Beckman's arguments before he spoke. _Has my time in Burbank changed me that much? The term 'Greater Good' didn't have the appeal it used to. Did I want to become like Beckman? _

"I understand my orders, General."

"Good, the warehouse tonight will reap rewards. Their computer alone should contain names, dates and places. I'll expect a report when you get back, Beckman out."

Casey looked at the darkened screen and the only word that came to his mind was 'bitch'. He'd have to be careful and not call her General Bitchman the next time they had a debriefing.

_She was a bitch. How could she be so callous…or am I becoming soft'? _

Xxx

After ridding themselves of the prisoner who would soon be on his way to a deep hole, Chuck, Casey and Carina drove to the warehouse again. The wait for the tactical team was almost intolerable.

Chuck had again asserted himself as Agent-in-Charge and had gone off to check more of the thermal sensors that would have to be disabled before an assault could begin.

"What happened, Casey? He was catatonic and now he's back to being 'Bad ass Agent Michaels'?"

"Need to know. National Security," Casey answered. "Keep your eyes open. He's a loose cannon."

"Bullshit, Casey. I'm a member of this team and as such I demand to know what's going on," Carina ranted.

"You're a member of this team but you don't have the clearance to know everything about him. There are some things you don't want to know."

Carina silently seethed in the front seat of the car until Chuck returned and jumped in the back seat.

Both agents turned quickly with their guns drawn; they hadn't even noticed him approach.

"We'll need several CO2 fire extinguishers. Spraying them at the sensors will mask the heat from anyone's body as they pass."

Casey was on his phone in seconds requesting the team pick-up the needed equipment on the way since his team was on surveillance and couldn't leave.

Casey looked in the rear view mirror and surveyed Agent Michaels closely. It was the first time he'd really looked at him and not been so pissed at him for something.

"Michaels, you look familiar. Have we ever worked an op together?" Casey asked squinting at Chuck. The niggling feeling of familiarity again attacked his senses. I know him, I'm sure I do. Casey racked his brain but came up empty. He would think about it again when the mission was over.

"Now that you mention it, I do have the feeling I've seen you before," Carina added.

Chuck looked at them coldly before replying. "I work alone; I've always worked alone, mostly in Europe."

"The only mission I worked in Europe was in Prague," Carina said with a wink and a laugh towards Casey.

Chuck flashed, his eyelids fluttering slightly and a faraway look ensued. _Suspected state department official selling government secrets._

Chuck mumbled something about agents being tied up and someone had to clean up the mess.

Casey shot an angry look at Chuck but stopped when he saw the faraway look again. Bitchman was right. This guy was unbalanced.

Xxx

Sarah opened the back door to Castle with Edwards behind her. She was surprised the code had never been changed and when they entered the conference room she was more surprised that everything hadn't been cleared out when the mission had come to an end.

"This was our 'Castle'; I can't believe it's still here," Sarah said.

"We need all the information you can get about Major John Casey, Agent Carina Hansen and Agent Carson Michaels." Edwards was already scanning the equipment.

"I doubt I can still access the computers," Sarah sat in one of the familiar chairs in front of a computer.

"Samuels told me you have friends in high places. Beckman may have disowned you and Adams may have flagged you as rogue and put a sanction on you, but friends have kept you active. Find what you can and we'll be out of here before they catch on that we're here."

Sarah punched in her pass-code. Edwards had told her that she was still active and that she could still access the CIA databases. It was true, she realized, when the computers hummed to life

Now, she would be able to show her worth to Fulcrum by finding information on Hansen, Casey, and the new guy – Michaels.

Sarah smiled when the information began scrolling across the screen.

Xxx

A/N: Hope you enjoy. If not let me know how I can get better.

Thanks to all the readers who left reviews and all who put alerts on my last story, I hope you like this too. I love you, not as much as I love Sarah but close, actually not even close but thanks.

PS: Please read and review. The more reviews I get the quicker I'll post the next chapter. Just kidding, maybe.


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own Chuck or anybody else in the Chuck world. I have a birthday coming up tomorrow, I've asked for it many times so maybe. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.**

**A/N: I have to express my gratitude to jagged1 once again for the beta and tireless work she put in on this. I don't know what to say for the Awesome work she does. Recycling is good so I may have to begin using the same ones again. LOL. She is incredible for the way she makes my chapters readable. If you like this in any small part it's because of her and if you don't it's because I didn't listen to her enough. Behind every successful man is a brilliant woman that fixes his mistakes.**

**I once again must thank DLK for his help in solidifying my storyline with his suggestions and comments. Without his help I might've ended up killing Chuck. Oh wait, I did do that. Ha-Ha. Don't blame him that was before.**

**A/N 2: I've never used a song in a chapter before but DLK recommended a song by 'The Editors' (great song by the way and a great band). I hope I use it right; the lyrics just seem to echo my story. **

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and I hope you enjoy this. Please leave a review.

Xxx

Chapter 6

Xxx

_I don't think it's_

_Gonna rain again today_

_There's a devil at my side_

_But an Angel on her way_

Sarah was busy typing at the keyboard but not so distracted that she didn't notice Edwards walk to the back, checking the facility for anything else that might please his superiors. She used his momentary negligence to send a quick message to the director.

_Made contact, need info on new NSA team (Casey, Hansen and Michaels) to prove my loyalty, need immediately._

She quickly closed the chat window and continued to call up team assignments and agent strength in LA like they wanted. She was about to download everything she found onto a flash drive when the computer dinged.

"What's that?" Edwards questioned, suddenly nervous, thinking they'd been found out.

"Just another hit from my search," Sarah replied smoothly.

The picture made Sarah gasp: the video showed Casey throwing a bound man into a van before helping Carina in and then a dark shadowy man with a beard climbing in through the back door and pulling away.

"Is this what you need?" Sarah asked, astounded that the director had acted so fast.

"That'll do for now. Let's get out of here before they detect us. Leave everything as it was."

Sarah closed down the computer but not before punching a few more buttons. Sarah choked back a sob._ My time with you wasn't wasted, Chuck, I learned more from you than just how to love, _she thought.On her way out, with the pretext of putting everything back the way it was, she grabbed a few things she knew she might need and pushed them into her pockets.

Xxx

Casey looked at Michaels again in the rear view mirror. Bitchman had told him to ride Michaels hard and get the job done before he cracked again. Then he was to terminate him before he became a liability to the intelligence community.

"Michaels?" Casey growled.

"What, Major?" Chuck snarled back.

"Tactical team is two minutes out. Get ready to do your magic. We need the computers alive and not wiped."

"I'm ready."

Carina shot a cold look at Casey and wondered why he was being such a prick. Michaels had been a basket case only a few hours ago and this wouldn't really help.

"Carina, you're with him. I'm going in the front with the team," Casey said, shooting a look at her. "We don't want them seeing either of you. We're off grid, remember?"

Chuck looked at the two people in the front seat and flashed: not a real clunky flash but enough that Casey and Carina looked at him with concern that he might not be able to complete the mission.

"Get it together, Michaels, this isn't Call of Duty," Casey ground out between gritted teeth, recalling a video game Bartowski and Morgan had played while discussing their 'what sandwich would you bring to a desert island' debate.

Chuck flashed on a video game and a picture of a short bearded man enthusiastically pushing buttons on a game pad and jumping up and down blurred through his mind.

"Michaels, do I need to put you down?" Casey demanded.

Chuck came out of the flash and glared at Casey. "Ready to go when you are."

Casey looked at Michaels as he got out of the car and wondered again about Bitchman's orders to ride him.

Xxx

"Stay close, Agent Hansen, the CO2 won't last long. We need to get inside and deactivate the sensors for the tactical team," Chuck said over his shoulder.

"I'm right behind you. If I was any closer we would be making love," Carina joked.

"I don't need you that close," Chuck replied.

Chuck sprayed the sensors as he closed in on them and moved past them, looking for the next. Finally they were outside a door and he pulled his key pad reader out and attached it, waiting for it to flash the green light indicating the door was unlocked.

After what seemed an interminable time, Carina pulled her lock picks out and said she would have it open in a second.

Chuck grabbed her hand to stop her; it would set off alarms. The contact with her warm hand brought him out of spy mode and his eyes melted to brown. He smiled at her and told her to wait.

Carina smiled back at him and leaned in and whispered in his ear. "Wait until we get back tonight, I'm gonna rock your world."

Chuck's eyes got as big as saucers and he muttered, "What, what?"

The green light flashed that the door was unlocked, catching Chuck's attention and he looked into her eyes. They weren't bright blue and he would always be true to his Angel. He pulled his hand from Carina's and opened the door.

"We need to get to a computer. The team needs to get in without setting off the alarms," Chuck said hesitantly.

"Lead the way lover." Carina cooed.

Chuck looked back at her as they made their way down the hall, wondering what was going on with her.

Chuck pressed his com and told Casey that they were in and he'd have every sensor off-line in a few minutes and it would be safe to storm the building.

He and Carina searched each room on the ground floor and found nothing. They took the stairs to the second floor. They opened the door carefully looking for guards. Seeing no one, they again opened every door looking for the computer room or anyone here at all. Every room was empty and they were running out of rooms. There was only one room left at the end of the hall and they braced for the Fulcrum agents that would surely be there.

Chuck pushed Carina to the other side of the door while he flattened himself against the wall on his side. He slowly reached behind him and opened the door. When no gunshots erupted, he took a peek inside and saw why there was no one in the building. Next to the servers were blocks of C4 and a timer that read 23 and was counting down.

Chuck grabbed Carina and began to run toward the stairwell and ultimately the door that would lead outside. It was a trap Fulcrum had set.

"Casey, it's a trap. There's enough C4 in the computer room to take out this whole building. Get back. We're on our way out."

"Fall back, fall back," Casey yelled at the tactical team that had been advancing on the warehouse.

Chuck kicked the door open when they got to it and they were about to exit when they felt the rumble of the explosion. The building shook and the force threw them through the air like ragdolls, landing thirty feet from the flaming wreckage that had once been a building.

Xxx

_Someone hit the light_

'_Cause there's more here to be seen_

_When you caught my eye_

_I saw everywhere I'd be_

_And wanna go to_

Chuck was staring into his Angel's bright blue eyes and knew she was telling him something but no sound was coming out of her mouth. Staring at the lips he so wanted to kiss, he tried to figure out what she was saying. It looked like she was saying four words over and over again. 'I love you …..' He couldn't make out the last word but he didn't care; he only needed to see the first three. He smiled as wide as his mouth could and he spoke to her for the first time. "I love you, too. I'll always love you, my blonde angel." A brilliant smile came to her face and for once his dream didn't end with her sobbing. It ended with a smile on her face and seemingly tears of happiness streaming down her cheeks.

Chuck slowly woke, his senses trying to figure out where he was. He couldn't make out any distinct sounds, only muffled noises. When he opened his eyes, he was assaulted by bright, bright lights and quickly closed them again, thinking he'd burned his retinas.

"Water, please," Chuck croaked, hoping someone would hear him and come to his aid.

He felt a straw pressed to his lips and he greedily began sucking in cold liquid that helped to soothe his raspy throat.

"That's enough for now. Too much at once will make you sick."

Chuck again tried to open his eyes but again it was like looking into the sun from five feet away.

"Too bright," he rasped. After sipping the water, he could speak a little better but his throat was still dry.

"Sorry, I'll turn down the lights and give you a little more water," A female voice spoke as she moved to the door and turned off the lights directly over his bed but left some of the others on. "Better?" she asked.

Chuck tentatively opened one eye to a slit and when he saw the overhead lights were off, he opened both eyes to survey his surroundings and who was speaking to him. The nurse moved closer to his bed from the door and he noticed her shoulder length red hair and green eyes when she got close.

"You could have just called me Carson. I gave you my number. You didn't have to go get yourself hurt again to see me," she giggled.

Chuck seemed to be deep in thought for a second before he rasped the name tickling his memory "Gina?"

"I'm glad you remember me. Want some more water?"

Chuck nodded and she once again put the straw to his lips and he sucked in the cool liquid.

"Try not to talk for awhile; your throat is probably pretty sore. I'll go get the doctor now that you're awake. I'll be right back."

Xxx

Sarah sat quietly while Edwards drove. The only difference from the trip to Castle was he didn't put a blindfold on her. She didn't know if he was simply incompetent, they trusted her now, or if the seductive smiles she'd directed at him had the desired effect and he felt comfortable around her. The only other option was now that they had what they wanted she was going to be killed and they didn't care if she knew where she was going.

"Can I ask where we're going?" Sarah asked with a smile toward Edwards.

Edwards smiled back. "We have to report in. Samuels will want to review the information on the flash drive that you got back there. Then I don't know. I'm sure he'll tell us when he needs us to know."

Sarah settled back into the seat and kept her eyes open. She didn't know this part of L.A. so she furtively glanced around at every street sign or major landmark so she would be able to report where she was taken.

Xxx

Chuck had closed his eyes and went back to sleep only to wake with a shriek as someone was pulling his eyelids open and stabbing them with a knife. He realized it was only a pencil light but the effect was the same: intense pain.

"Sorry about that but I had to check your pupils," a male voice spoke.

Chuck couldn't open his eyes to see his torturer but could feel the tears making their way down the sides of his face. "You could've warned me."

"How do you feel?"

"Like I was run over by a steam roller and then a team of horses and then a steam roller again."

"You're going to be sore for a couple of days but I don't see any permanent damage."

Chuck had a thought. "What about the others?"

"Major Casey and the tactical team that brought you in are fine. Your partner Agent Hansen wasn't so lucky; she'll be out of action for a month. Broken leg and severe concussion but other than that she's fine. You can see her when she wakes up. Right now Major Casey is outside and wants to talk to you."

Chuck just nodded. His eyes were still burning and he didn't dare open them. The pain would just be too much right now even in low light. Shit.

"Michaels, how're you doing? You look like shit," Casey laughed.

Chuck lay there with his eyes closed and chuckled softly. "I feel like shit. How's Carina? Really? Is she going to be okay?"

Casey looked down at the injured man who was speaking softly, not in the cold ruthless voice that he was used to. His face was again bruised and battered, similar to when he'd first met him. His scraggly beard had been nearly singed off his face and they'd shaved it to attend to the cuts and abrasions. He blinked a couple times and gasped.

_Shit, that bitch. Beckman. She screwed everyone. If that's not Bartowski, it's his twin. I should've seen it before. I should've known by all that techno babble that he was spouting that it was him. What happened to him? He was never a spy. How did he get so good at it?_

"She'll live: broken leg, concussion and lots of abrasions. I've locked down this wing of the hospital. No one in or out until we leave. The tactical team Bit … Beckman sent is guarding it. We're supposed to be off grid but after the explosion I didn't have a choice, you two needed treatment right away."

Casey continued, keeping his voice steady, still staring at the man's face. "They don't know who they're guarding and they won't see either of your faces so I think we're safe but I don't want to stay here any longer than necessary."

Chuck cracked his eyes to look at Casey and flashed back into Agent Michaels. "They knew we were coming. We need to get out of here and away from the tactical team. They're the only people that knew we were going to storm that building. One or more are Fulcrum. Where's my gun?"

Chuck sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, his head swimming, but he knew what he had to do. "Where are my clothes?" Standing, he started to wobble and sat back down on the edge of the bed, holding his head, and hoping the carnival ride would stop before he threw up.

Casey was taken by surprise at the attitude change when the cold Agent took control again. _This is what Carina was talking about._

"The doctor says we can't move you until tomorrow and Carina for at least a week."

"We need to move now, Major. Call Beckman. Give her a status update. We can't wait."

_Oh, I'll give that bitch a status update, all right. From the end of my gun._

"No can do, Michaels."

"I don't care what you or the doctors say. We can still get medical attention away from here. Move the guards off on an errand and get Carina and me into the van. Bring a doctor and nurse. Kidnap them if you have to. We're not safe here. Blindfold them but get us to the bunker. There's an infirmary there and they can provide medical support from there. In a few days, they can leave the same way. I'm sure Beckman will approve it."

Casey was so transfixed watching the man speak and his body movements that he almost slipped up. "Okay Chu … Michaels, I don't like it but I'll do it."

_What did that bitch do to him? He doesn't even recognize me._

Xxx

_You came on your own_

_That's how you'll leave_

_With hope in your hands_

_And air to breathe_

"You've done very well, Agent Walker. This information will go a long way to helping Fulcrum destroy this new team. We will have other small missions for you to do until next week when we take down Beckman. Her successor will definitely be more helpful," Samuels smiled.

"Thank you. I'll do whatever you need me to do to help. My ultimate goal is to kill Beckman."

"Edwards will take you back to your room now but be ready. Until this new team is dead, we aren't safe."

Sarah turned and left the room, leaving Samuels and the men behind the lights to discuss everything on the flash drive.

_You won't be safe for long and then you'll all be dead. But not before you tell me where Deputy Director Evans is and I personally put a bullet in his head._

Xxx

Casey had sent four members of the team to the airport, telling them that General Beckman was arriving within the hour to speak with the team and they were added security for her. He then tasked two more to guard the entrance to the hospital wing he appropriated. Sending the last two for coffee that was drugged and would knock them unconscious in minutes. He didn't know which of the team was Fulcrum; they might all be for all he knew. He needed them all out of the way. When he saw them slump in their seats, he corralled a doctor and nurse and told them in no uncertain terms they were coming with them.

When they protested, Casey pulled his weapon on them. "National Security. You're coming with us."

When they knew the threat was real, they acquiesced and went to Carina's room and pushed her to the elevator, waiting for Casey. Casey showed up seconds later with Michaels in a wheelchair and together they all descended to the basement and got into a black van with no windows. Once everyone was settled, Casey growled, "Put these pillow cases on your head and don't take them off until I tell you to."

Casey carefully pulled out of the underground parking garage, two buildings away from the hospital. It was a secret entrance so anyone watching the hospital wouldn't see his escape. He merged into traffic and continuously spoke in a low voice to keep the doctor and nurse calm. He'd had them drug Carina and Michaels/Bartowski _(What the hell do I call him now?)_ for the ride. They were still in serious condition because of the explosion four hours earlier, and the ride was sure to be uncomfortable for them.

Thirty minutes later, Casey, after criss-crossing the city and doubling back making sure he didn't have a tail, pulled into the abandoned warehouse. After pressing the correct sequence of numbers, the elevator opened and then closed before descending into the bunker.

Pulling open the rear doors, Casey spoke. "Take off the pillow cases and follow me, there's a fully functional infirmary and you can get a gurney and wheelchair to take the patients there."

After showing them the way, he turned to them. "Make them comfortable. I have to report in."

Casey stood in front to the monitor wondering how much he should divulge to Bitchman She'd said everything was 'need to know' but if she knew that he knew everything, would she be comfortable with that or terminate him? When this was over, he wouldn't be able to terminate Chuck, of that he was sure. He just didn't know if it was safe for Chuck to go back home or even in the real world. Whatever she'd done to him, she had turned him into a cold-blooded killer. Someone who could snap at any moment. Could Casey live with that if Agent Michaels did snap and killed innocent people? He gave this a lot of thought before he decided.

Pressing a series of buttons, Beckman appeared on the screen. "Major, why are you in the bunker? You should be at the hospital supervising security for Michaels and Hansen."

"We had to leave. Michaels was acting a little weird and pointed out that the warehouse was a trap and since only our team, you, and the tactical team knew we would be taking it down, one or more of the tactical team must be Fulcrum."

"That makes sense, but were they well enough to be moved?"

"Not really. That's why I kidnapped a doctor and nurse for a few days to care of them here at the bunker. I'll need you to smooth that over."

"Very well, Major, good work. Keep me informed of their recovery. We have a job to do."

Shutting down the video feed, Casey stood looking at the monitor, staring at his reflection and the look on his own face. _Shit, she still won't reveal anything about Bartowski. I'll bet if I asked she'd deny it but I know it's him. I don't know how she did it but she is one cold BITCH._

Casey sat down at the computer to do back ground checks of the tactical team and see if he could come up with something to go on, a lead that might take them to their new base.

Xxx

After hooking up the IV and the equipment in the infirmary to monitor Carina, the doctor examined her to make sure she was stable. He turned to find the nurse mopping the brow of the male agent.

The agent seemed to be sweating profusely and writhing, almost to the point of convulsions but not quite. Not having had any medical records to work with, he'd used a generic sedative. He had to move fast as this was probably an allergic reaction to it and unless treated right away he might die. He didn't need the big NSA agent pissed because the agent died.

Running to the drug cabinet, he grabbed the antidote and quickly injected it into the IV port. It would take less than a minute for it to work, provided that was the cause for the reaction. He didn't have a luxury of doing a lab check, but he'd seen enough reactions in his time to think this was it. Waiting and watching the clock, he observed that the agent seemed to settle down in less than a minute. He slowly released the breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"Watch him carefully, Gina. Let me know immediately if there is any other reaction. I'm going to check on the female again and then find the agent and see how long they intend to keep us here."

"Yes, Doctor Lunny." She continued to wipe his brow with a wet cloth, hoping he would wake up soon so she could talk to him. When she'd last seen him his face had been mostly covered by bandages, but his brown eyes and smile had captured her fancy.

_He wasn't like all the other agents that came through the hospital. He was sweet, kind and almost a little shy. I definitely wanted to get to know him better. _Her cheeks flushed at the thought.

Chuck opened his eyes and surprised her by taking her hand. _When did he wake up?_ _Shit, now I should be mopping my brow._

"Hi, Gina. Where are we?" Chuck asked with a smile, not recognizing the surroundings.

"I don't know. Last time, I couldn't tell you. This time, I really don't know. A big scary guy made us put pillow cases over our heads and kidnapped us. Well, kidnapped us in a kind of good way. He said you and the other agent weren't safe at the hospital and he needed us for a day or so to make sure you had constant care." Gina had rambled on; she really was kind of nervous about the kidnapping, but the look of compassion and the smile on his face made her blush.

"He's big and scary but I won't let anything happen to you," Chuck replied with a giant smile on his face, squeezing her hand again. "We must be in the bunker and this is the infirmary. If you go out the door and turn left, two doors down on the right, you'll find the cafeteria if you're hungry. I don't know how long we've been here. Go the other direction and the first door on the right is the bathroom. I'm not sure if you've been shown around. Directly across from the bathroom are a few rooms with cots where you can take a nap."

"Are you hungry, Carson? I can go get something for you. I know the other agent will be sleeping for at least another few hours."

"I'm not really hungry, but go ahead and get something for yourself. I think I need a little more sleep. I'll be fine." Chuck leaned back into his pillow and fell asleep.

Xxx

The doctor was opening every door as he went down the hall looking for anybody, but in reality he wanted to ask the big NSA agent how long they would be there. He also wanted an explanation; there should've been security to prevent this from happening. At the end of the hall, he finally opened a door and saw the agent working on a computer.

"Excuse me, excuse me but I really need to speak to someone in charge."

Casey looked up and glared at the offending intruder before growling. "I'm in charge. Don't you have patients to take care of?"

"The nurse is watching them. I really need to find out how long you intend to hold us?"

Casey pushed the series of buttons and General Beckman appeared on the screen. "What do you need now, Major?" Beckman started before noticing the doctor standing by the door. A man about six foot with sandy blond hair, he was about fifty and seemed competent.

Doctor Paul Lunny's eyes widened when he saw the General on the screen. "General, my apologies for disturbing you. I was just wondering about this situation?" he stammered looking into the deadly glare of the General.

"Doctor, we need your help for the next few days. Your patients are of the utmost importance. They were in danger at the hospital but here they are safe. I suggest you attend them. This will be a gold star on your record."

"Yes, General. Thank you, General, they will be well taken care of." Lunny rambled before he bowed, turned and ran back to the infirmary.

Xxx

Doctor Lunny entered the infirmary and found the two patients alone. Where was the nurse? He thought. He checked the vitals on both of the agents and confirmed that both were sleeping comfortably and would be for some time. The female agent needed more attention because they'd moved her twice and the first time her cast wasn't fully set. He only hoped the bone had been set properly. He needed to find out if there was an x-ray machine so he could check. He didn't need a pissed off General or Major for that matter making his life difficult.

Gina came back into the room and the doctor pounced on her. "Where were you? These are two very important patients. They need twenty-four hour observation until they're better."

"Sorry, Agent Michaels woke up and he told me where the bathroom was and I had to go. It's down the hall to the right, first door on the right."

"Is there any place to sleep? We should take shifts watching them."

"Directly across from the bathroom, there are some rooms with cots," Gina replied wondering why he was so nervous.

"I'll take the first shift. I'll wake you in four hours. Go get some sleep; we're going to be here for a few days."

"Thanks," Gina replied as she moved out the door, looking forward to a little sleep. It had been a long day.

Xxx

Casey had come to check on the patients and to make sure they were being taken care of. Doctor Lunny was checking their vitals for what seemed to him the millionth time when Casey walked in. He didn't want anything to happen to them. That NSA agent scared the crap out of him.

"How are they, doctor?"

"Both sleeping comfortably. I don't think the female agent will wake until morning but the male will probably wake in a few hours and be hungry. Any chance of some food? I'm kind of hungry too. Oh, and is there an x-ray machine around? I should check her leg, what with moving her around so much," Lunny asked.

"It's down the hall to the left, fourth door on the right. You better make sure her leg is good. If she ends up with a limp, she'll kill you." Casey replied with a laugh.

"I want to wait for her to wake up before I do that to make sure she's not in any discomfort. I think I'll go wake the nurse and get a few hours sleep myself."

"Good idea. Don't need a screwing up something due to sleep deprivation, doctor."

Casey walked out and the doctor followed him as far as the barracks and then woke Gina. "I need some sleep. Your turn to watch them."

Gina went into the cafeteria and heated some soup. It was quick and easy and that was probably all Carson could handle right now. It would be another day before he could handle solid food.

Chuck was mumbling in his sleep. To Gina, it sounded as if he was talking to someone. She swore she heard him say "Sarah, don't watch me sleep, that's weird."

"Carson, wake up. You need to eat something."

Chuck slowly opened his eyes and looked at Gina. He smiled and asked for help to use the bathroom first. She helped him to the door before closing it and waiting for him to help him back to his bed.

Once back in his bed, Gina began to slowly feed him the soup she'd heated up. She lifted the spoon to his lips and he slurped the liquid up like it was air and he needed it to live. Gina smiled as she wiped his lips after each spoonful.

When he wanted no more, she took the bowl away and sat with him, holding his hand. He lightly squeezed it, liking the intimacy.

Gina wondered how such a gentle soul could have become involved in the spy business. She was enjoying the hand holding and then noticing what time it was, she realized she should wake the doctor so he could check the agents.

She didn't know what took possession of her but she looked down at him and his soft brown eyes. She leaned down and pressed her lips to his. Staring at her, he closed his eyes and accepted her advances She so wanted to make him feel better and this was something she wanted too. She shuddered with passion when he began to deepen the kiss.

Their lips softly explored each other's; it was tender but burning at the same time. Opening his eyes to slits, he saw red hair instead of blonde. A sudden vision of his blonde Angel flashed through his mind and he could feel her slap on his cheek and her look of abject misery. He knew then it was wrong and he would never cheat on her. He pulled back and pushed Gina away. "I'm sorry. I like you a lot but I can't explain it. I'm in love with a dream."

Gina looked at him and nodded; she knew what it was to love a dream. Ever since she's met him, she'd been in love with a dream. "It's ok, I understand."

_I won't disappoint you_

_As you fall apart_

_Some things should be simple_

_Even an end has a start_

Xxx

A/N: Hope you enjoy. If not let me know how I can get better.

Thanks to all the readers who left reviews and all who put alerts on this and my last story, I hope you like this chapter too. I love you, not as much as I love Sarah but close, actually not even close but thanks.

PS: Please read and review. The more reviews I get the quicker I'll post the next chapter. Just kidding, maybe.


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't own Chuck or anybody else in the Chuck world. My birthday came and went and I didn't get it but maybe next year.**

**A/N: I have to express my gratitude to jagged1 once again for the beta and tireless work she put in on this. I don't know what to say for the Awesome work she does. I'm not sure if anyone would read it if not for her help. If you like this in any small part it's because of her and if you don't it's because I didn't listen to her enough. **

I'm so sorry for the long time updating, the show was depressing me. I hope I still have some readers who want to read this.

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and I hope you enjoy this. Please leave a review.

Xxx

Chapter 7

Xxx

Chuck had made the long trek to the bathroom and back. It was more of a shuffling limp than walking. He really just needed to stretch his muscles. He'd been in the bed for two days and neither the doctor nor Gina would let him get up for anything. He didn't think it was his thing to just lie around. He really didn't know.

Before getting back to his bed, he made a bee line for Carina. She'd woken up yesterday for a few minutes but he hadn't been able to talk to her before she went back to sleep. He really needed to see her and apologize for not watching out for her and keeping her safe.

"Carina, wake up," Chuck called, while shaking her shoulder gently.

Carina started to stir and her eyes flickered open to see Chuck's worried face looking down at her.

"Carina, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for you to get hurt," Chuck pleaded with both his words and eyes.

"That's so sweet. I really think you mean it," Carina gave him a weak smile and a wink. _You look even better without that crappy beard. I can't wait to get out of here, she observed._

"I do, Carina. I never meant for you to get hurt. I should've gone in alone."

"Occupational hazard - we're in a dangerous line of work."

"The doctor says you'll be up and around in a few days but the cast will be on for about a month."

"I'm ready to get up now. I'm sick of this bed already, unless you want to get in here with me." Carina winked again and grabbed his hand pulling him closer.

Chuck's face blushed bright red and Carina laughed a deep, throated laugh. _It was so much fun to play with him when he was the shy agent. _

A thought that had been tickling her mind finally hit her, and Carina suddenly looked around in a panic. "Have you seen my phone? I need my phone."

"I've been out of it a little myself; you'll have to ask Casey. He'll probably be in to check in on us in a few hours. I better get back to my bed before the doctor comes back."

As Chuck turned to go back to his bed, Casey strode into the room and Chuck froze for a second. He felt his brain flickering with a trigger, and he blinked before his eyes flashed black and the mask of the super agent came over his face.

Dark thoughts suddenly slammed into Chuck's brain and his step faltered slightly with the new information. Destroy Fulcrum, do whatever it takes to take them down and leave no survivors. He was an agent and his sole mission was Fulcrum. After that, nothing mattered, he didn't matter, he only knew what he needed to do now... Failure was not an option.

"Major," Chuck nodded before turning and limping away in search of clothes. _He had work to do - the destruction of Fulcrum wouldn't wait._

Casey studied the young man who shuffled out of the room and into the hallway._ Shit, he's back in agent mode. How the hell do I turn it off? If I call him Chuck he might go off like a bomb and kill everyone. Beckman warned me he was unstable and I don't think she was lying about that. Not his unstable nature but whatever the hell she programmed into him. Was any of what happened to him real or just a way of acquiring him for her own use? I'm going to have to talk to someone and find out what to do but who can I talk to._

Carina glared at the big man. "What the hell did you do to him, Casey? He was so sweet a minute ago worrying about me. Now he's the super spy again."

"Need to know, Carina."

"Don't give me that bullshit, Casey. I've seen it too many times. Every time he sees you, he becomes Agent Michaels. I'm your partner; tell me what the hell is going on."

Casey just looked at her and let out a skeptical grunt.

"Okay, don't tell me, but I will find out. Have you seen my phone? I need to check my messages."

"It's with your clothes and other belongings in your room. You can get them later."

"Casey, remember the handcuffs? I have a pair in my bag and if I don't get my phone right now you'll be wearing them within the hour. Understand me?"

Casey grumbled but strode out to fetch her phone. _He never knew when she was serious and when she was kidding and he didn't really want to take the chance_.

Xxx

Chuck had gone to his room to get dressed. He needed to talk to Beckman about the tactical team she had assigned and find out who the traitor was. The turncoat would then be taken into custody and questioned. Because it had been him and Carina that had been hurt, he knew he would be doing the questioning. _The man would tell all._

When Chuck limped out of his room fully dressed, he ran into the doctor who gently put his hand on Chuck's arm.

"Agent. You are in no shape to be out of bed yet. I have ordered at least two more days of bed rest. I suggest you go back there".

Chuck looked at the doctor, then looked at the offending hand on his arm. "Remove your hand and attend to your other patient before you are in need of a doctor yourself." The doctor was chilled by the icy voice.

Pulling his hand back, he shrank away from the agent. The look in the agent's eyes made his skin clammy. He turned quickly and left the hallway, not looking back.

Gina had just opened the door to wake the doctor for his shift when she saw the confrontation in its entirety. She couldn't believe it. This was the soft spoken Carson Michaels, the man she was enamored with and had shared a brief kiss? He was speaking in such a cold and dangerous voice - something she had never even heard from any of the agents she'd seen at the hospital. Agents who would say and do anything for the job.

_Is all of this an act?_

She quickly backpedalled into the main hallway and returned to the cafeteria. She no longer wanted to be around him; this man was a hardened operative. She wanted to go home to her empty apartment and just pull the covers over her head.

Xxx

After Casey had returned with her phone, Carina thanked him, assuring him that she would be okay. He should go watch over Michaels and make sure he didn't overdo it. She needed her privacy right now.

Xxx

Sarah thought back on the last few days. She had been escorted by Mike Edwards to locations even she didn't know existed. It was always to access the CIA databases - searching for the location and information on the 'new team', a way of neutralizing them. They always wanted to know their base but that was one of the things she was never able to find. She'd gotten them everything they wanted to know about Casey and Carina but there was nothing to be found about the mysterious Agent Michaels. There were no photos; he was a ghost. There had been stories told about his exploits for years. Experienced operatives didn't believe them but newbie's did.

Now she was a believer, only because she'd seen some of the files on his missions. A true phantom.

Sarah pounded on the locked door to her room. She was beginning to feel claustrophobic; she just needed to get out and breathe fresh air. Finally, as a last resort, she used a piece of metal she'd removed from the bed and picked the lock. She needed freedom.

Sarah moved down the hallway pressing, her body against the wall to present less of a target. She wanted to find a way out. She knew where they were but she also needed information.

Passing a closed doorway, she froze when she felt movement of air and the cold steel of a gun barrel pressed to the back of her neck.

"Going somewhere, Agent Walker?" Edwards asked.

"I've been cooped up in that room for over a day. I needed some air. I'm an agent. I need something to do," Sarah replied smoothly.

"Don't worry. We'll be moving in a few hours. This new team is causing our organization some trouble and we can't stay in the same place too long, Agent Walker."

"When will I have a new mission? I need something to do," Sarah asked turning and flashing her brightest smile. "And call me Sarah."

Xxx

Chuck was deep in conversation with Beckman when Casey entered the conference room and neither noticed his entrance.

"General, I need the files on the tactical team now. I need to find out which of the team is Fulcrum and tipped them off that we were coming in. It was a setup and I want to question him. We may be able to find out where they moved to or if any of the other teams you have are in question."

"Agent, what you ask is not possible. They are a black ops team tasked by the NSC and even I don't have access to their files." Noticing Casey standing at the back of the room, she directed her comments to him. "Please explain to Agent Michaels that some files are buried so deep that no one sees them. It's to protect their identity and their families."

"That's right, Michaels. The families of agents that do this kind of work are especially vulnerable," Casey said while he moved up to stand beside Chuck.

"Then I want all eight agents available to me. I will find the traitor. The Trojan I put on the computers at Prymial Peripherals yielded no information. It was another plant to avert suspicion," Chuck scowled, thinking about what he would have to do.

A shrill buzzing sounded and all three sets of eyes swung toward the sound. Beckman and Chuck knew immediately that it was the alarm from the infirmary, but Casey, having only been in the bunker for a few days, didn't know what it was.

"What the hell is that?" Casey asked, pulling his weapon, thinking they were being infiltrated.

"It's an internal alarm coming from the infirmary," Chuck explained while rushing out the door.

Xxx

Casey and Chuck ran into the infirmary together with their weapons drawn. After noting there was no immediate threat, both looked at Carina, vexed, wondering why she had pressed the alert button.

"What the hell, Carina?" Casey said in an exasperated tone. "You scared the shit out of us."

"Sorry, but I needed you here now and the dumb ass doctor was scared shitless and wouldn't go get you."

"What's so important that it couldn't wait until later?" Casey shoved his weapon behind his back again.

"I just got a text from a contact and I know where Fulcrum has moved its base."

"How the hell would your contact know anything about Fulcrum or their whereabouts?" Casey was suddenly suspicious of her actions.

Chuck stood back and surveyed the room and the hallway, his gun still at the ready to take down any intruders. Still expecting an infiltration squad, he was only half listening to the conversation that was going on.

Spinning at a noise he heard in the hall, Chuck sprinted out down the corridor and pushed the figure he saw up against the wall, gun pointed at the intruder's head.

"It's me Carson, Gina. Please don't hurt me." Her eyes were tear filled from fear and pleading that he didn't kill her.

Chuck looked at her with his darkened eyes. "I'm sorry, but with the alarm going off we can't be too careful."

Gina looked at Chuck and shuddered, shrinking away from him. This wasn't the man she met so long ago.

Chuck came back into the room just in time to hear Casey questioning Carina. "Who is your contact and what did they tell you?"

"I can't tell you who my contact is, but I trust them with my life. I was told where they are right now, but they will be moving in a few hours so you need to move right away if you want to catch them," Carina explained.

"Okay, give me the address and I'll check it out," Chuck's glare made both Carina and Casey wonder if he should be told. He was still holding his gun and it was pointed in the vicinity of both of them.

"No way Bar … Michaels. This time, you're back up. You can barely walk and if there's another bomb, you would never be able to get out in time. I'm going in," Casey crossed his arms over his broad chest.

"He's right," Carina added. "Stay in the van."

Chuck started to tremble; the words somehow echoed in his brain and he knew he'd heard them directed at him before. He just didn't know when or where.

Xxx

The drive to the office complex seemed to take forever as Casey kept sneaking a peek over at Chuck. He seemed too engrossed in the scenery, not blinking, an unfocused glazed look plastered on his face.

_Oh shit, not another catatonic fit._ _What had happened to Chuck?_ He needed to talk to someone who might be able to help get him back without him going psycho.

They passed a shopping mall and Chuck saw the familiar colors of the Buy-More. The flash started small and then seemed to encompass him.

_Xxx_

…_He was sitting behind a curved desk, answering stupid questions and trying to get a small bearded man and others to do some work..._

"_Hey little buddy, Big Mike is watching you, you better get back to work before he fires you."_

_Where the hell did he come off sounding like the skipper?_

"_Buddy, you have to help me. Anna is mad at me again and you gotta help me out," the little bearded man pleaded._

"_We'll talk about it tonight. Right now you need to get back to work."_

Xxx

The flashing yellow light on a construction sign brought Chuck out of his trance. "Where are we going, Casey?"

Casey glanced over at his partner and instead of seeing Agent Michaels, he saw Chuck Bartowski the nervous nerd he remembered from Burbank.

Casey knew he needed to proceed cautiously, even though delicate operations were not his specialty. It made him twitchy. "Do you know where you are, Chuck?" He spoke the name nervously fingering his gun.

"I don't know, Casey" The big man noticed a confused frown on Chuck's face, a crease in his brow. "I just don't know …"

The rest of his answer died on his lips as an oncoming car's headlights illuminated the interior of the car and he got a good look at Casey. His conditioning kicked in and his eyes flashed black. He was once again Agent Michaels. "Major, where are we?"

_He'd almost got something out of him. Maybe something important…while he was like this, he would never get anything. If he included Carina, they might find out where his head was. She said he was the nervous agent whenever he wasn't around and she was._

The ringing of Casey's phone broke him out of his thoughts.

"Casey secure"

"Hansen secure, I just got another message from my contact. They're moving in five minutes and unless you can get there before then forget it."

"Are you sure about the time? Are they setting another bomb?" Casey asked.

"Yeah, the bomb won't be set until they're safely away. They've already wiped the computers, but if you make it in time you might get something."

"Shit, I don't know if we'll make it there in time. Does your contact know where they're moving?"

"Nothing yet, you'll know right after I know. Be careful."

Casey pressed the pedal to the floor thinking that at top speed they might make it.

"I wish I had my Crown Vic," Casey muttered to himself.

"Coming up on the office building. I'm going in and you're going to watch it all on video," Casey chuckled.

Chuck watched as Casey breached the door and entered the first floor. Thermals showed only one person in the building and he was on the third floor - obviously left to make sure the explosives were set properly and then leave.

Casey made his way quickly up the stairs, thinking if he took the man out before the explosives were set, he could call in Chuck to get him to look at the computers and find important data. When he opened the stairwell door, he saw the lone man opening the door at the end of the hall and entering the room.

Casey made his way to the room and shot the man as he was about to input the time code for the explosive device.

"Chu… Michaels, get up here. I got here before they set the detonation sequence. I want to see if you can get anything from the computer."

Chuck moved out of the vehicle and limped to the door. He took the elevator instead of the stairs, it was just easier. The computers had been wiped, but somehow he was able to recover information using knowledge of operating systems and other programs that he didn't know he knew. The small amount of data he was able to extract was about Fulcrum cells around the country - all in all a successful mission.

Xxx

While Casey did the briefing with Beckman, Chuck walked back to the infirmary to get the bandage on his thigh changed. Blood had started to seep through. He'd probably torn a stitch or two and it was starting to smell.

Seeing the doctor checking Carina, Chuck walked over and asked him about checking the stitches.

"I'm busy at the moment. I'm sure Gina can help you. She's in the cafeteria getting a coffee." Doctor Lunny didn't really want to have anything to do with the cold agent. He really scared him.

Chuck walked down the hall and met Gina with a cup of coffee in her hand.

"Hi Gina, can you help me with my bandage? I think I tore a stitch," Chuck smiled.

She recoiled in terror dropping her cup. Her face showed fear and something so foreign to him that he spun around expecting to see a gun pointed at them. Seeing nothing, he returned his attention to the pretty red head.

"Are you alright, Gina?" Chuck asked worriedly.

"I … I'm fine," she stammered. "I can do that." She really didn't want to make him angry.

She looked at him, not sure what to make of the change. She decided that everything was an act and he did what he needed to do when he needed to do it. A shiver ran down her spine when he took her hand and pulled her into the infirmary.

Xxx

Casey had delivered the doctor and Gina back to the NSA hospital the previous morning, blindfolded of course. He dropped them off in the basement with instructions to stay put for ten minutes. He was pretty sure they were sufficiently intimidated and would follow instructions.

Several more missions were carried out over the next few days but almost always ending with either the building abandoned, or too late to get much useful information from the computers.

Carina's contact had come up with another building that Fulcrum was using as a base, although this time there was a chance to round up a few prisoners to question. The leaders of Fulcrum wouldn't be present but with a little persuasion Casey was sure he could get them to talk. This time he wouldn't accept someone telling him they knew nothing. A bonus would be having access to the computers before they were wiped.

Casey didn't know how longer before Chuck cracked. He was beginning to act even more erratic. Sometimes zoning out when he was supposed to be back up and sometime flipping from agent to nerd mid sentence. He wished he had someone he could ask about his condition.

Casey's blood boiled when he reflected back on the previous night's report to Beckman. Early into the video conference, he noticed Chuck was silent, and he glanced down at him. It was as if the kid had a switch in his head that had shorted out; catatonic, unresponsive. _What the fuck were they doing to him? _

Then, that bitch ordered Casey to leave the room, and he saw lights flash under the door. He knew they were again doing something to the Intersect via Chuck.

Standing in the hall, Casey replayed an earlier conversation he'd had with Chuck; they were discussing the new mission.

"_Michaels, you will remain as back up until you are fully able to complete a mission."_

"_Major Casey, I don't need a babysitter. I'm fine."_

"_When you can walk without a limp we'll discuss it."_

"_Major, I am Agent in Charge. I will make the decisions on …"_

_That was when Casey slipped and growled. "Shut it, Bartowski."_

_Chuck blinked a few times and said softly while looking around the unfamiliar room. "Where are we, Casey?"_

"_Chuck, are you all right?" Casey asked quietly, hoping to finally find out if all of Chuck was still in that big brain._

"_I'm fine Casey. Where's Sar…?"_

_It was at that moment; General Beckman appeared on the screen. Chuck was staring at and he froze solid, unmoving._

_Xxx_

"General, can't you see what you are doing to this young man? We've had to reset the Intersect with increasing frequency. I told you what would happen if we did it a second time. This is the fifth time and he is becoming increasingly erratic," Doctor Waters didn't like having to raise his voice at a US General.

"Doctor, we need him. What he does is important to this country to fight the cancer that has grown. He is special and in the last five days, he's done more to bring down Fulcrum than every other agent has done in the last two years. We only need a few more days."

"I'm not sure he has that. Look at him. I reset him and he still hasn't moved or blinked. I think he may have finally suffered permanent brain damage. We're just lucky that he didn't go the other extreme and go rogue and kill everyone."

"We're all patriots willing to do what we need to do for our country. If we weren't we wouldn't be in the profession."

"He didn't ask for this. He didn't have a choice. You forced him into this. No, worse you wiped his brain so he didn't have the choice."

"It was needed and I'd do it again."

Chuck looked up and asked. "General, do we have a go for the mission?"

"Yes Agent Michaels, ask Major Casey to come back in."

Xxx

By the time he returned, Casey was seething. The time it was taking them to do whatever they were doing was increasing each time. Smashing his fist into the wall, Casey made his decision. He was going to go in and confront Bitchman and find out what they were doing. He'd had enough.

As he turned to open the door, Chuck opened it and walked out. "Casey, the mission is a go. We leave in two hours; I want to check on Carina before we leave and see if she needs anything or has any new information."

Casey nodded and pushed past Chuck into the conference room. He needed to have a conversation with Bitchman.

Xxx

Carina was becoming even more vocal and impatient to get back in the game and do something.

She kept telling Chuck if she had to stay in bed she should at least be enjoying it and kept trying to drag Chuck in with her.

This time when Chuck stopped in to see Carina she whispered, "Closer, I need to tell you something."

Leaning down to let her whisper in his ear, she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down on top of her. She pressed her lips to his and tried to engage his tongue with hers.

Chuck tried to pull away but her arms were around his neck holding him tight. The assault on his mouth continued and she tried to roll over so she was on top.

Finally managing to disentangle himself, Chuck fell off the side of the bed looking stunned.

"Carina?" Chuck looked her with surprise on his face.

Carina smiled and reached to pull him back to her but Chuck pushed himself to his feet and backpedalled away from her.

"This isn't finished, Carson."

Chuck turned and ran back to the conference room, forgetting what he was there for.

Xxx

Casey pressed the series of button to initiate the link to General Beckman. When she appeared he couldn't mask the scowl on his face.

"General, what exactly are you doing to, ah … Michaels?" He wanted to ask 'what are you doing to Bartowski' but he didn't want to tip his hand.

"Major, I told you he was unstable. Steps must be taken to keep him going. We're winning the war - tonight's mission might give us the information to find the leaders and bring them down. If we can do that, the whole organization will fall."

"What about Michaels?"

"You have your orders Major. If it ends tonight you must do your duty. Report when you get back. Good luck."

"Bitch" Casey growled to the black screen.

Xxx

Somehow Carina had made her way to the conference room just as Chuck and Casey were ready to leave for the mission. "Don't you dare tell me no. I'm going as extra back up. I can sit in the van as well as sit here."

"Carina, we can manage without you. You need your rest so you can get better," Casey reasoned.

"I'm going. It's a done deal. You know you can always use an extra set of eyes. Don't make me use the handcuffs," Carina laughed while dangling the cuffs from her finger.

Chuck stood, watching the two agents verbally spar with each other. Agent Michaels, who had once again invaded his psyche, interrupted them in a cold voice. "We leave in two minutes. If you can make it to the van by yourself, you can come."

Carina stood and hobbled to the door, beating Casey to it by a step and smirked. "I guess I'm going."

Xxx

Sarah was sitting at a small table, having a coffee with Mike Edwards. In reality, she was pumping him for information. _She always hated this part of the job_. She kept the smile on her face, hiding the disgust she felt for this traitor. She wanted nothing more than to kick him in his smiling face. He honestly thought she was infatuated with him and was hanging on his every word. It was what they taught in seduction school: smile pretty and keep a pattern of touching to boost his ego and deflect what she was really doing.

She'd exhausted what she could learn from him. Actually, he knew very little but she needed him to trust her. The next time Samuels came by, she would try to get close to him but having talked to him a little, she knew he wouldn't be as easily manipulated.

Xxx

Carina positioned herself next to Chuck in the back of the van, pressed close and rubbing his arm. He hadn't responded in any way - he just stared with his dark eyes. Casey had warned her that there was something wrong with Michaels and to be careful what she said or did. She was working with an agent that might go off at any second like a hand grenade. It hadn't worried her. She knew from experience and the way she affected Michaels that she was safe and had told Casey as much.

"_Don't take too much for granted, Carina. You've seen how he reacts to certain situations." _

When they got to the warehouse the thermal imager showed ten Fulcrum agents inside. Not an insurmountable number for Casey to take down but he would have to be careful. Luckily, it seemed the traitors were spread out throughout the complex and that would make it easier.

Carina held onto Chuck's arm when he moved to get out of the van and help Casey.

"We'll be watching him all the way, don't worry. Casey can take care of himself," Carina said.

Chuck sat back down. "Call if you need help."

Casey signaled as he made his way to the door and activated his lipstick cam.

Xxx

Sarah was being escorted back to her room. She still didn't have free reign of the complex but they were beginning to trust her a little more with each mission she and Edwards went on.

The alarm went off denoting a breach on a door in the loading dock area. Sarah didn't know what it was but followed Edwards as he ran down the hall. When they got to a door and saw a flashing red light above it, Edwards stopped and looked at Sarah.

"Go back to your room. We'll handle it." He motioned to the other two agents that had just run up and stopped beside him.

"You might need me," Sarah pointed out with a smile.

"Please, Sarah, go back to your room. You're not supposed to be down here until Samuels gives the thumbs up," Edwards looked at her broad smile and could feel his resolve melt a bit,

Sarah smiled back and turned back the way they had come. "Okay, Mike."

Xxx

Casey had opened the door the way Chuck had told him to or at least he thought he had. He'd put the card replicator over the card slot and pushed the series of buttons that he'd been told to press.

Chuck didn't notice that Casey had pressed the buttons in the wrong sequence because his huge hands blocked his view. That, and Carina was twirling one of his curls around her finger, and then lightly drawing her finger down his jaw

The one thing Casey did do right was to connect the internal sensors to Chuck's laptop.

"Carina, leave me alone. This is important and we have work to do."

"Okay, but when we get back …"

Chuck pulled Carina's hand from his face and pushed her away.

"Casey's in position and we're his back up. Watch the monitors."

Xxx

Casey pushed the door open and peeked inside. Seeing no one, he stepped inside and kept to the shadows. He moved along the wall toward the door he assumed led to the main corridor. There was nothing of interest here; only a few discarded skids and empty packing crates.

Xxx

Sarah moved back along the corridor and rounded the corner but stopped there. She needed to know what was happening. This might be the opening she was waiting for - she only wished Samuels and a few of the other higher ups were in attendance. From what she was able to find out, this move had only included the turncoat agents and her.

When she heard a door open and Edwards gloat about the easy capture, she peeked around the corner to see Casey lying on the floor having been tazered and being beaten by them.

Xxx

All communications had been cut off once Casey entered the interior door. There was only a hiss from the speakers and the cams were showing only snow.

Chuck's laptop suddenly showed a silent alarm had been set off and Casey would be in need of help.

"He needs back up now Carina," Chuck stood up from his seat.

"Casey can handle it."

"No, Carina. We have to help him."

"He's an agent, he knows the risks. We can call in a team."

"Remember what happened to you? He risked his life to save you. We need to help him! We don't know which teams are compromised," Chuck pleaded.

Carina let out a long breath. "We can't risk the whole operation for him. It's what he would want. At least wait five minutes. He's probably fine and will be in contact shortly."

"Carina, I won't wait." Chuck pulled his arm from her grip and moved to the door of the van. "If I don't come back or if you don't hear from us in five minutes, head back to base and contact Beckman. She might have a team she trusts."

"Five minutes, no more and then I'm coming in."

"Carina, you're in no condition to come in after us. Do as I say."

Xxx

Chuck limped to the door. He didn't bother with the card reader as it was already compromised and couldn't set the alarm off a second time. Moving as fast as his leg would allow, he pulled his gun and kept to the shadows, hoping Carina could somehow guide him to Casey's location. The door closed behind him and so did his communication with Carina.

Once in the hallway, Chuck saw the blood on the floor and hoped the wounds hadn't been fatal. There was blood, not a lot but sometimes internal injuries were more dangerous than external ones.

Chuck followed the trail of blood droplets, while hoping to hear Carina's voice in his ear. Hopefully his lipstick cam was still active.

Xxx

Sarah followed Edwards and the other two agents as they dragged Casey to an interrogation room. When the door closed she pressed her ear against it and listened. She heard the sound of fists impacting flesh and pushed the door open and saw Casey grunting from the blows. Moving silently into the room she saw the damage they had done in the minute he'd been tied to the chair.

Looking up, Casey spied Sarah standing at the back of the room and snarled. "I never figured it would be you, Walker, but once I found out you were Fulcrum it made sense, you …"

Casey never got to finish his thoughts as more blows rained down upon his face.

"Where are Hansen and Michaels?" Edwards demanded.

"Probably setting explosives right now, you traitors," Casey sputtered through his split lips.

"I find that highly improbable. If they were here, you wouldn't have come in alone." Edwards made his point by smashing his fist into Casey's face.

Sarah snapped - she couldn't stand by and watch them beat Casey anymore. He'd been her partner, the best partner she'd ever had and he'd helped her when Chuck had been killed. She had to help. The rest of her mission didn't seem important now. He was her friend. She stepped forward like she was about to add to his punishment. But using a spinning heel kick, she knocked Edwards into the wall and grabbed the gun from his holster and before the other two agents could react, she put a bullet in both their heads.

Running up to Casey, Sarah cradled his head. "Casey, can you hear me?"

"Walker, you bitch," Casey spit out. "What are you playing at?"

Sarah pulled a knife out and cut Casey's zip ties. "Trust me Casey; I'm on your side. Let's get out of here."

"How can I trust you, Walker?"

"Because I was your partner and I loved Chuck. All this is just to bring down Fulcrum and kill Deputy Director Evans. It's all I want to do," Sarah screamed at Casey with tears in her eyes.

"I don't believe you."

"Call Director Evans - he's one of my contacts."

"Like I'm going to trust anyone in the CIA now."

"Then ask Carina. Who do you think her contact is, anyway?"

Casey just stared at her in shock as she pulled him from the chair, telling him they needed to get out of there.

Xxx

Chuck stepped into the viewing room and looked at the situation unfold before his eyes. A blonde woman had taken out the three Fulcrum agents and then cut the ties that held Casey to the chair. Her back was to him and he couldn't see her face but her voice was very familiar.

It all made sense now. Carina's contact was a deep cover agent with Fulcrum. Why Carina hadn't just told them made no sense.

When the blonde pulled Casey up from the chair and turned to head to the door, Chuck gasped. It was his Angel, the one in his dreams every night. She was real, not a figment of a demented imagination.

He blinked a few times and then his heart rate sped up and he started to tremble and sweat. Falling to his knees and putting his head in his hands he started to whimper. _No it's not real, it's a dream. I'll wake up in a few seconds and this will have never happened._

Looking up and taking one last look at her as she and Casey left the room, he began to flash. So many images cascaded through his head. Images of his Angel telling him to stay in the van, with a stern look on her face but sparkling eyes. Sitting beside him on a sofa watching a movie or just holding his hand sitting on a beach, asking him to trust her.

He looked back down at the gun in his hand and shuddered before dropping it to the floor. This was a real weapon, not something used for a video game.

More images began flooding his brain so fast he couldn't understand any of them or fixate on any single picture. There were thousands if not millions and his head began to feel like it was going to explode. He didn't know how long the pictures continued before he passed out.

Xxx

Sarah had her arm around Casey's waist while he had his arm around her shoulders and she was urging him to move as fast as he could. Someone had set off another alarm and it was only a matter of time before more guards showed up. They had to get out of there fast.

When they exited the building, Casey pointed to the van parked down the street. At this point, Casey was starting to stumble, and the last forty feet Sarah had to drag the unconscious man.

Opening the door of the van, Sarah was surprised to find herself staring down the barrel of a nine millimeter pistol and Carina behind it. When Carina saw it was Sarah and that Casey was out cold she hopped out on one leg to help Sarah push Casey into the back of the van.

"What the hell happened, Sarah? We lost contact right after he entered the building."

"They've got a communication jammer inside. I can't believe Casey would attempt this with just you as back up."

"Where's Michaels?" Carina inquired worriedly.

"We never saw anyone else. Did he go in after Casey?"

"When we lost contact he waited five minutes and then went in. We have to get him."

"I'll go back in and see if I can find him. What does he look like?"

"Black hair and a luscious smile, _sometimes_," Carina said with a blush.

Just as she closed the side door and turned to head back to the building, the remaining Fulcrum agents ran out the door and began shooting at them.

"Shit, no time. We've got to get out of here," Sarah yelled as she got in the driver's seat and peeled away from the curb while gunshots peppered the back of the van.

"We can't leave him, Sarah," Carina screamed from the back of the van where she was ministering to Casey's injuries.

"We'll come back. Casey's out cold, you with a cast on your leg and me with no other back-up is no match for eight agents. If Michaels is as good as the story goes, he'll be fine."

Xxx

Chuck pulled himself to a sitting position and sat back against the wall. He had no idea where he was or what he'd been doing. The last thing he remembered was nothing. Concentrating, he thought of what he'd been doing and then it came to him.

He didn't remember who he was.

The door opened and someone threw a flash bang inside. He wondered how he knew the name of the offending device but couldn't remember his own name. That was the last thought in his head before the explosion and blinding light.

XxxHowHhH

A/N: Hope you enjoy. If not let me know how I can get better.

Thanks to all the readers who left reviews and all who put alerts on this story, I hope you like this chapter too. I love you, not as much as I love Sarah but close, actually not even close but thanks.

Don't hate me for the cliffhanger, I couldn't resist but the next chapter is close to being done so you won't have to wait long.


	8. Chapter 8

**I don't own Chuck or anybody else in the Chuck world. **

**A/N: I have to express my gratitude to jagged1 once again for the beta and tireless work she put in on this. She is wonderful and does all the tough work, fixing all my mistakes and there are many. You should read her stories. She works so hard on this I think I'm going to add her as a co-writer soon. I don't know what to say for the Awesome work she does. I'm not sure if anyone would read it if not for her help. If you like this in any small part it's because of her and if you don't it's because I didn't listen to her enough. **

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and I hope you enjoy this. Please leave a review.

Xxx

Chapter 8

Xxx

"Tell Doctor Waters to meet me in my office immediately."

General Beckman disconnected the call to her assistant, not waiting for a reply. She had things to discuss with Waters after her conversation with Major Casey.

She was deep in thought recalling Casey's words when she heard her aide buzz, alerting her that the doctor had arrived.

Once seated Waters studied her impassive face. "Is there something wrong, I only left an hour ago?"

"Yes, I need to know what you are redacting and what you are adding to these refreshers or resets, as you call them. They only seem to reinforce his agent persona and his almost schizoid behavior."

"I've only been trying to do what you asked. We've redacted all the information that you requested."

"But what else have you done? He hasn't flashed in a week. If not for the contact that Agent Hansen has and the information that she gets from them, we would be going nowhere."

"As I said, we've only done what you asked. We're working on adding in some information on his previous missions, but it is a time consuming task. We have to filter out any references that you deem unnecessary. It's not an easy task and we're working around the clock."

"Why hasn't he flashed and provided any new information?"

"I don't know. I only know that he is in a very fragile state at the moment." The doctor had a pained expression. "This isn't why I became a doctor. I wanted to help people. Not destroy them. I can no longer be a party to this."

"You are helping to cut out a cancerous growth. The wound will heal once it is gone."

"But the young man will not heal nor will you let him heal. Will you? You'll dispose of him when he no longer is of any use to you."

"Doctor, we all have jobs to do. Some are less appealing than others and some are very disagreeable but they still must be done. I would like nothing more than to release him when we're done but you yourself have said he is unstable. The lives he is saving now and the lives we will save when he is dead are incalculable. My concern at the moment is his lack of flashing."

"We've scrambled his brain so much I'm surprised he can function at all. I don't see him lasting more than another reset."

"Is this based on fact or is it an opinion?"

"Both, I'm surprised he's lasted this long. I said last week that he might only survive one or two resets. He's had five. He's on borrowed time. I suggest you either bring him in for a full checkup and refresher or discontinue the resets immediately. I don't want to know. I only know that when he goes over the edge many people will die. I don't want to be responsible for that."

"Very well, doctor, we'll schedule a full checkup after their mission tonight. Prepare yourself and your team to fly to California."

"What do you mean, fly to California? All of our equipment is here and it certainly not small enough to transport across the country."

"Do what you can for him, doctor. Keep him in the game until the cancer is dead. After that, I don't care. I'll schedule a plane for sixteen hundred hours. Assemble your team."

Xxx

Sarah slowed the van down when she felt they had reached a safe distance away from the complex and there were no cars following them. She pulled over to the curb and turned to Carina, glaring.

"Carina, I told you everyone would be gone by dawn and come in then. They were starting to trust me and I'd planted a snooper on the server so it couldn't be wiped."

"Sarah, they were getting suspicious and wanted prisoners to question. You were supposed to be gone by now."

"Change in plan - they were waiting for Samuels and another bigwig. How's Casey?"

"He's unconscious. We have to go back and we have to help Michaels."

"We can't, if they haven't blown the place up by now they will certainly have reinforcements on site. Michaels is a ghost and is probably already out and on his way to your base."

"You don't understand, Sarah. He's been acting strangely, zoning out and he even became catatonic once. He's very nice for a spy. Sometimes it's like he couldn't hurt a fly.

Sarah squinted at Carina in the dim light. "He's Agent Michaels, the legend, the phantom. I've seen some of his mission reports. He doesn't need anyone's help. He never has."

"Sarah, turn around and go back, He could be hurt. I'll go in and find him." Carina stated as she pulled her gun and pointed it at Sarah's head...

"Okay, Carina. We'll play it your way this time. But don't point that thing at me."

Xxx

"Finally, the famous Agent Michaels. Put him in the van and let's go. Set the explosives. A one minute timer should suffice," Samuels said. "And leave Edwards here. If not for his incompetence we would've captured the whole team."

"Yes sir."

Xxx

When the van was about a mile away from the Fulcrum facility, the sky lit up and a deep rumble could be felt. Turning the last corner, they saw that there was nothing but a pile of rubble and a raging fire where the complex had stood.

Sarah looked back and could see Carina's eyes begin to tear up. "We're too late," Sarah said, glancing over at the red head.

A groan was heard from the back of the van and both women turned and looked toward Casey. He was still unconscious.

"Let's get Casey some medical attention. He was beat up pretty badly. Is there a doctor or nurse at your base?"

"No, Casey got rid of them a couple of days ago. We're off the grid - no contact with anybody but Beckman," Carina offered.

Sarah bristled at the name and then her forehead creased as she thought of another option. "I think I know where we can find a doctor that might be able to help us."

Sarah pulled the van up to a motel nearby and paid for a room. Then, with great difficulty, she and Carina half carried, half dragged Casey inside and put him on the bed.

"I'll be back in a little while; I'll have a doctor with me. Don't shoot us when we get here," Sarah said; she only hoped he was on duty.

Xxx

"How is he?" Samuels asked as they roughly put Chuck into the chair and zip tied his wrists to the armrests.

"He's still out. He's probably got a concussion but I'm no doctor."

"Let me know when he's awake. We have a very special someone who wants to talk to him."

Xxx

The Burbank hospital was only a two minute drive from the motel and Sarah walked inside the hospital and up to the emergency desk, smiling. "Can you page Doctor Devon Woodcomb for me?"

When she heard the page, Sarah moved away from the desk and sat among the people waiting for treatment.

Devon walked down the hall a minute later and Sarah moved beside him and looped her arm in his like an old friend, and guided him toward the exit.

"Just keep walking, Devon, and don't look back."

"Sarah, what's going on?"

Sarah pulled Devon out the door and to the van. Sarah faced him, deciding there was no easy way to tell Devon the truth. "Devon, I'm sorry but we need your help. Please, it's important. Casey is hurt and needs a doctor."

Devon looked into Sarah's eyes and immediately saw the conviction that they were showing. "I need to get my bag. You can come with me if you want."

Sarah looked at him and knew he meant his words and she could trust him. "I'll wait here, please hurry."

Devon jogged back to the hospital and returned a minute later with his doctor's bag, and jumped in the passenger seat. "Let's go."

Sarah drove the few minutes to the motel, and when they arrived at the door of the room, she knocked loudly. "Carina, it's me and a doctor. Can we come in?"

Carina opened the door as if she'd been sitting beside it waiting for her.

Devon moved into the room and took one look at Casey and voiced his concern. "He needs to be in a hospital."

"We can't put him in a hospital. It's too dangerous," Sarah advised.

"What's going on?" Devon glanced up at her as he was checking Casey over.

"You're not going to believe us or like it Devon," Sarah bit her bottom lip.

"Hold off until I take a look at John. You can explain after."

Xxx

Chuck woke slowly and tried to keep his breathing even so as not to alert anyone in the room with him. Listening carefully, he heard nothing but his own breathing. He opened one eye to a slit and looking around, realizing he was alone. He let out a deep breath and tried to relax.

He tried to remember why he was tied to a chair but nothing would come and then he realized he couldn't remember anything. Nothing - not where he was or why and then the realization that he didn't even remember who he was. When he closed his eyes, the only thing he could envision was his blonde Angel calling to him. _Be strong my love. I'll save you._

His head hurt and the light was too much too bright. He leaned back with a smile on his face and lapsed back into unconscious.

Xxx

Devon had checked Casey's eyes with his pencil light and his blood pressure. He checked a few other vitals before turning to the two women looking at him intently.

"He's got a first degree concussion, not real serious but we still should get him to a hospital. He'll wake up soon but he's going to have a splitting headache. The rest of his injuries are mostly superficial. While I tend to them, why don't you explain why you kidnapped me and why you have a gun?"

Devon finished his work on Casey's face by putting a few stitches on his cheek and eyebrow and a few butterfly bandages on the lesser cuts. He had listened to the story Sarah and Carina had told without interruption. When he turned around he looked Sarah in the eye and spoke with a disapproving look on his face.

"So, you're all spies and it was all an act. You were just Chuck's protector. Thank god Ellie never knew. She would have killed you."

Casey slowly awoke and lay still listening to the conversation. He wasn't sure where he was and just decided to listen for a minute.

"You don't understand, Devon, it started out that way but something happened along the way. I fell in love with him. I loved him so much and I miss him so much." Sarah said with tears in her eyes.

"You fooled us all before. How can I believe you now?"

"It's true, Devon. I've know Sarah a long time and I can tell when she's telling the truth," Carina interjected.

Casey's moving diverted everyone's attention from the conversation they'd been having.

"John, how do you feel?" Devon asked looking concerned.

"Like someone used my head for a punching bag, how do you think I feel?" Casey snarked trying to move to a sitting position.

Devon put his hand on Casey's chest and pushed him back down. Pulling his penlight back out Devon examined him. "Follow the light with your eyes." Casey did as instructed and when Devon was satisfied that it was nothing more serious than a mild concussion, he offered some pain pills and a glass of water.

"Thanks." Casey sat up and looked around the room squinting in the bright light. He eyed Sarah suspiciously and then his eyes flew open wide. "Where's Bar … Michaels?"

"We don't know, he went in after you but when Sarah dragged you out, it all went to shit. Everyone came out of the building shooting at us and we had to take off." Carina stated.

"We have to go back and get him. Have you reported this to Beckman?" Casey growled and moved to get off the bed and fell back on his first attempt to stand.

"Easy there, John." Devon said.

Carina hobbled over and looked Casey in the eye. "We haven't had time to report yet. We can do it as soon as we get back to base. They blew the complex up, there's nothing left."

"We don't report in. We do need to find out if Michaels made it out." Taking a long suspicious stare at Sarah he turned to look at Carina. "Do you trust Walker?"

"With my life. Sarah's been my contact. She's working directly for Director Adams."

Taking another look at Sarah, and then a glance at Devon, Casey let out a long breath "Do we still have the van? I need my bag from the back."

"It's parked outside. I'll go get it," Sarah said as she opened the door and went outside.

"Carina, can you trust her?"

"I told you yes. Why are you asking me again?"

"She's not here now. Are you sure?"

"Ask me again and I'll shoot you myself, Casey. What is all this about?"

Sarah returned with the bag, setting it on the table. "Spill it, Casey, why can't Michaels take care of himself?"

Casey walked unsteadily over to his bag and spoke over his shoulder. "Because he's not Agent Carson Michaels." Casey turned around scanning their faces. He had discovered Beckman's secret – an awful, Goddamn dark secret, and finally revealing it would take a weight off of his conscience. "He's Chuck Bartowski. Chuck is alive."

All three had shocked looks on their faces and their mouths were wide open. Sarah was the first to recover and speak.

"He can't be, Casey, Beckman said Chuck was dead. You said he was dead," Sarah cried out with tears in her eyes. "I'd give anything for this to be true."

Devon watched them in confusion, saying nothing.

"I thought so too until a few days ago when they shaved off his beard and he started having those spells. They did something to his brain and must've done a little plastic surgery too. That's why I didn't recognize him right away."

"Shit, that's why he looked sort of familiar. That explains so much, why he turned into the nervous, shy nerd whenever we were alone."

"Please, Casey, don't toy with me. Are you sure MY Chuck is alive? We have to find him. What if he was in the complex when it blew up?" Sarah choked out.

"That's why I needed my bag; I planted a GPS locator in his watch."

Xxx

A strong ammonia smell snapped Chuck awake and he shook his head to try and get away from it. The wave of pain in his head from shaking it made him throw up all over himself and almost made him pass out again.

A voice spoke from beyond the circle of light. "So nice of you to join us, Agent Michaels."

Chuck just grunted in response. He didn't know who this Agent Michaels was and he didn't know who the voice belonged to and he certainly didn't recognize the two burly men standing in front of him.

"One of my men is going to show you a picture and I want you to tell me what you see."

The burly man on the right held a photo in front of Chuck's face and waited for a reaction.

"Tell me what you see." The voice demanded.

Chuck looked at the picture of the rose again and stammered. "A rose, I see a rose."

The man stepped in from the shadows and looked closely at Chuck to see if he was telling the truth. "Do you know who I am?"

"Should I?" Chuck asked quizzically.

"Yes you should. Looks like we may have to do this the old fashioned way." Samuels laughed as he motioned to the two men.

Xxx

"Come on Casey, hurry. He could be hurt and he needs me. I have to save him." Sarah yelled while looking over his shoulder.

Carina called out. "Maybe we should send Devon back to the hospital in a taxi."

"No way. I'm not going anywhere. If you're right and Chuck is alive, he might need a doctor. I'm going with you. I have to call Ellie."

All three agents chorused at once. "No, no one must know until we're sure."

_Sarah had thought about killing Beckman before for ordering Casey to give the code to Chuck. Now she wanted to kill her even more - the bitch had taken Chuck away from her and then used Casey to further the mission. _

"I got a fix on his location. He's about fifteen miles away. Somewhere in Santa Monica, let's roll." Casey grabbed his bag and moved unsteadily to the door.

Sarah rushed past everyone. "I'm driving." _Be strong my love. I'll save you._

Casey got in the passenger seat and Devon and Carina got in the back. The door was barely closed before Sarah was racing out of the parking lot at high speed.

"Take the 5 to the 110 and then the 10, Walker, and hurry." Casey said. "I'm going to see if I can get an audio signal on his watch. Carina, did he have his ear mic?"

"Yeah I think so."

Xxx

"Agent Michaels, for each time you refuse to tell me what I want to know one of my men will be forced to hit you. Do you understand?"

"I don't know anything," Chuck pleaded.

"Wrong answer." Samuels nodded to one of the men and a fist smashed into his face.

"What do you know about the Intersect?"

"I don't know …"

Another blow to the face, this time breaking his nose and Chuck started to spit blood down the front of his shirt. He was loopy and about to pass "Give him a minute," Samuels said. "We don't want to kill him."

Xxx

Everyone in the van was silent, thinking introspectively about the prospect of Chuck being alive. The ride had been anything but smooth, Sarah had pushed the van to its limit and well beyond almost crashing several times as she passed cars. She had a determined look on her face and the occasional tear ran down her cheek as she repeated her mantra in her head. A phrase of hope rang through her mind, keeping her going. _Be strong my love. I'll save you._

Casey was concentrating on the GPS locator and still trying to fine tune the communications gear and get a signal from Chuck. Devon and Carina just held on hoping they would live through the ride.

The van pulled off the highway and after several turns Sarah stopped down the street from an abandoned warehouse.

"Is that the building?" Sarah questioned.

"Second one down on the right," Casey responded.

"Carina, you stay here with Devon. If you lose contact with us or things go wrong, contact Director Adams and get him to call in a team. He's speed dial 2 on my phone," Sarah said as she tossed her phone to her.

"Wait, I can help. Besides I don't think John is ready for a full out war," Devon argued.

Casey turned to glare at the young doctor when static started coming from the device Casey was holding. He turned a couple knobs and voices could be heard.

"Agent Michaels, will you please tell me what I want to know. We can do this all day while I don't think you can."

"I told you, I don't know …"

Sounds of a fist impacting flesh followed by a scream and then moaning.

_It was happening all over again, this is the way it'd started. Chuck kidnapped and being tortured. She wouldn't be able to survive Chuck being taken from her again._

Letting out a loud scream Sarah grabbed the microphone from Casey and began to speak.

"Chuck, Chuck, please listen to me. It's Sarah, I love you. Hold on, don't leave me again."

"Sar …" Then the sound of more punches and screams.

"Let's go, Casey." Sarah screamed, already out the door and halfway to the warehouse before Casey could even open his door.

Casey caught up to Sarah as she was picking the lock on the door. "Walker, slow down. It won't do us any good if we get killed before we can rescue him."

"I can't let him die again," Sarah pleaded. "Where is he?"

"Fourth floor, let's go."

Xxx

"Samuels, what the hell are you doing? I told you I wanted him alive and unhurt. I have plans for him," Former Deputy Director Evans and now second in command for all Fulcrum activities in the continental United States glared at him, pissed that his orders were not followed to the letter.

"He wouldn't tell us what we wanted to know. He wouldn't tell us where the Intersect is."

"That's because he_ is_ the Intersect. He just needs to be reminded of it. Did you show him the cards?"

"He said all he saw was a rose."

Evans went over and grabbed the rest of the cards. "You were supposed to show all of them to him. One is the trigger."

Evans nodded for one of the men to pull Chuck's head up and then began to flash the pictures in his face. It was the third card that Chuck saw that forced him to begin shaking. His eyes rolled back in his head and focused on the men in the room.

Xxx

"Sarah, Casey. Evans just got there; they're doing something to Chuck. I don't know what but it doesn't sound good. Hurry." Carina shouted into the microphone.

"We're just heading up the stairs now, just passing the second floor," Casey grunted, his head was throbbing and his legs felt weak but he wouldn't fail his Asset a second time.

Xxx

The voice that spoke was nothing like any in the room had heard before. It was cold, indifferent and full of menace. Chuck looked at the men through one open eye and one that was almost swollen shut.

"Evans, you are a traitor to your country. I'll enjoy killing you and your hired thugs."

All the men laughed because Chuck was secured to the chair. Chuck used his left foot to tip his chair to the right and in doing so broke the arm of the chair, freeing his right arm. The arm of the chair was still zip tied to him but it didn't matter. He jumped to his feet and spun, hitting the first man in the throat, collapsing his airway and he fell to the floor to die painfully. His left arm swung what was left of the chair and it shattered into the head of the second man.

The sound of gunfire came from outside the room but Evans and Samuels were too preoccupied with trying to pull their weapon to really pay much attention.

Xxx

"Walker, go get Chuck. I'll keep them pinned down."

Sarah sprinted to the door at the end of the hall and kicked it open. Three men were on the floor either dead or dying and Chuck had a knife held to Evans throat about to make the fatal slice.

"Chuck?" Sarah screamed.

Chuck turned and looked upon his blonde Angel. His mouth dropped open and then the knife clattered to the floor, just slightly ahead of Chuck who fell to his knees with his head in his hands, screaming.

Evans took the opportunity to run to the other side of the room and grab for a gun on one of the dead men.

Sarah ran to Chuck, dropped to her knees and pulled Chuck into a crushing embrace. She dropped her gun in the process. Sarah began whispering in his ear. "I love you, Chuck."

She heard the snick of a safety being clicked off and turned to see Evans with a gun leveled at them.

"You're too late, Agent Walker. As soon as you're dead he'll be coming with me."

On a subconscious level Chuck heard the threat made against Sarah and leapt to his feet, pushing Sarah behind him to protect her. Two gunshots were heard almost simultaneously and both Chuck and Evans fell to the ground.

Casey barreled into the room and looked down at the body of Evans. "You traitorous piece of shit," and put a second bullet in his head for good measure.

Sarah was up in a second, cradling Chuck's head in her lap. "Chuck, Chuck, look at me."

Casey called into his cuff mic. "Devon, get up here fast and bring your bag. Chuck's been shot. We're on the fourth floor. I'll meet you halfway. Carina, call for an ambulance and wait for it. Send them up here when they get here and call Director Adams for cleanup crew. Make sure he understands to send only people he trusts. They should be able to tap the computers here too. I think this is their main base."

Casey looked down and saw the red stain spreading on Chuck shirt.

_I'm too late again. I'm sorry Chuck._

Sarah had tears running down her cheeks and was screaming for Chuck to look at her. His eyelids fluttered open for a second, his soft brown eyes looking intently at her. He smiled up into her shiny blue eyes, and whispered softly "I've been waiting for you, my Angel; I knew you'd save me." Those were his last words, before he closed his eyes, and passed out.

Xxx

A/N: Hope you enjoy. If not let me know how I can get better.

Thanks to all the readers who left reviews and all who put alerts on this story, I hope you like this chapter too. I love you, not as much as I love Sarah but close, actually not even close but thanks.

I hope you don't hate me for another cliffhanger, I couldn't find a good place to end the chapter that didn't have a cliffie. The next chapter is close to being done so you won't have to wait long. This week sometime, still two chapters to go. Jagged1 has said everyone would forgive me but I'm going into witness protection until I post the next chapter, just in case. Ha-Ha, I hope everyone else will laugh too.


	9. Chapter 9

**I don't own Chuck or anybody else in the Chuck world. **

**A/N: Sorry for the long delay, I hope someone still wants to read this. **

**I really don't know how to express all the gratitude I feel to jagged1 for all her work. She keeps saying she is having a hoot doing this but it keeps her away from writing her own story. For that I apologize to everyone waiting for another chapter of 'Chuck vs. the Upgrade'. Almost done this so then I can nag her. Ha-Ha. You should really read it, it's great.**

Anyway, like always if you find some small part that you like it is because of her and if you don't blame her anyway. Ha-Ha.

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and I hope you enjoy this. Please leave a review.

We finally got the episode we have been waiting for. It's been a long three year ride but I now feel it's been worth it. I hope everyone else does too.

Xxx

Chapter 9

Xxx

"John, you don't look good. What's wrong?"

Devon had sprinted up the stairs when he met Casey around the third floor landing sitting on a step and sweating.

"Don't worry about me, go help Chuck. I'll be fine. Fourth floor, door at the end of the hall. Go, he needs help more than me."

Devon took one more look at Casey before turning and ran up the last flight of stairs. As he got close to the room Casey had directed him to, he started to hear sobs and shouting.

Sitting on the floor, Sarah was holding a piece of her blouse she'd torn off, trying to stem the flow of blood. She was stroking Chuck's face with the other hand. "Chuck, please, stay with me. Don't leave me again."

_Chuck inhaled deeply and the smell that greeted his nose filled his heart with joy. It was a scent that was deeply rooted in his brain, a scent that he remembered. A scent that always made him smile._

Devon ran into the room and gently pushed Sarah out of the way. "I need to look at him. Let me help him."

Sarah moved to the side, still holding Chuck's hand, while Devon lifted the wad of bloody cloth to look at Chuck's wound. It was bleeding freely, but from the look of it, Devon surmised it was far enough away from any major organs and it hadn't shattered a bone. The shot had gone completely through. It was low on the left side of his stomach. Pulling a dressing from his bag, he applied it before carefully rolling him over to look at the exit wound. Another dressing and he felt Chuck would be stabilized until he was moved to a hospital for an MRI and could get the wounds further examined and stitched up.

"Sarah, Sarah. He's going to be fine but we need to get him to a hospital. The ambulance should be here in a minute."

Sarah just gazed at Chuck. The left side of his face was a mess and his nose looked like it had been broken. His hair was shorter and not the brown she was used to but when he'd looked at her with his warm brown eyes she knew it was her Chuck - the man she fell in love with and would always love. The man she thought she'd lost months ago. She couldn't let him go now.

Xxx

Casey slowly levered himself up from a sitting position on the stairs. He needed to go down and help the paramedics find Chuck. Climbing down the stairs was easier than up but was still an effort; the adrenalin that had been coursing through his body was dissipating and he felt tired and nauseous. Once on the main floor, he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Someone was running down the corridor. _Shit, we missed a Fulcrum agent._

Forcing himself to follow as fast as he could, Casey pushed open the door and peered into the room. The Fulcrum traitor pressed the last of a sequence of buttons on the computer console before turning around and gloating. "Done."

The other occupant of the room lifted his weapon and shot the man in the head, the smile still on his face. Casey pushed the door open all the way and it gave a slight squeak. The agent whirled on him and twin gunshots rang out. Casey and the Fulcrum agent fell to the floor simultaneously.

The building was plunged into darkness as an automated voice reverberated through the building intercom system. "Building lockdown activated, computer purge activated, self-destruct activated. Ten minutes until self-destruct." Warning klaxons sounded throughout the building.

Xxx

The ambulance had arrived and Carina was directing the paramedics to the building, hobbling along on her walking cast, trying to keep up. When they were ten feet from the front door, they heard the klaxon and steel shutters slammed down on the inside of the building, the doors and windows effectively locking them out and the others inside.

"Casey, Sarah? Can you hear me? What's going on?" Carina screamed, while the paramedics backed away from the building and the crazy woman with the gun in her hand.

Carina took a tentative step forward to survey the door. The steel shutters that protected the building appeared to be segments of steel that once deployed, interlocked. They were almost an inch thick and were obviously used by Fulcrum to provide protection while an evacuation could be planned.

Carina turned to the startled medics, trying not to show her rising panic. "Hey, boys. Got any explosives in that meat truck?"

Xxx

Sarah and Devon exchanged a look when the emergency lights came on. Devon's eyes shifted from his patient to Sarah. "This can't be good?"

"I think we need to get out of here now. We can't wait for the paramedics."

Devon hesitated for a moment, weighing the risk of moving Chuck, but the incessant clang of the warning system told him he would need to listen to Sarah.

"Can you help lift him – under an arm? I'll get the other side."

Sarah and Devon shifted Chuck to a sitting position, and each lifted an arm over their shoulder to lift him up. They moved out of the office and toward the stairs dragging Chuck between them.

Carina's frantic voice came over Sarah's ear mic. "Casey, Sarah, steel shutters just went down over all the windows and doors. What do you want me to do?"

"Casey, Casey, what's going on?" Sarah yelled into her mic.

After getting no response from Casey, Devon bent down and hoisted Chuck over his shoulder. "I've got him, go check on Casey. I'm right behind you."

Xxx

Casey heard the voices screaming in his ear and rolled over onto his back, chastising himself for being sloppy and having been shot. Sitting up, he saw the gunshot wound in his leg.

_I've had worse._

Then he heard the tinny voice on the intercom. 'Nine minutes and thirty seconds to self-destruct'.

"Carina, what's going on?" Sarah pleaded. "Casey, where are you?"

"I'm on the first floor, computer room," Casey slurred. "What's the status, Walker?"

Sarah entered from around the corner with her gun drawn. Looking around, she noted the dead man sprawled over the keyboard and the other lying on the floor just behind him and Casey sitting on the floor leaning against the wall.

"Casey" Sarah said urgently, and gave him a few sharp taps on the cheek.

"Sarah? Casey?" Sarah could hear a tinge of panic in Devon's voice, coming from the hall way.

"In here, Devon," Sarah yelled.

Devon entered the room, gently setting Chuck on the floor before turning to Casey and Sarah. "What's going on?" His eyes drifted to the pool of blood on the floor, and noticing the blood on Casey's leg, he pulled his bag open and pulled out supplies to dress the wound.

"Whoa. John, are you hit anywhere else?" Devon looked for any other signs of injuries while cutting away the pant leg to apply the dressing.

Casey ignored him.

"We missed a couple Fulcrum agents. One of them set the self-destruct. We need to get out of here," Casey rasped.

"Carina, what's happening out there? We've got a countdown to self-destruct."

Carina could hear the countdown in the background.

'Nine minutes to self-destruct.'

"Sarah, steel shutters have come down over all the windows and doors."

"Carina, go to the van and get my bag. There are explosives in it. Get them and get to the front door and I'll tell you what to do. Hurry," Casey ordered.

Hampered by the walking cast, Carina cursed under her breath, but returned as quickly as she could to the steel shutter door that separated her from the rest of her team. She set down Casey's bag and began calling to him through the mic for instructions on setting the explosives.

"Casey, I'm ready. What do I do?"

Sarah glanced down at Casey but he was glassy-eyed. Sarah slapped him again, hoping he would wake up.

"Enough. Damn it, Walker." Casey drawled.

"Tell Carina how to set the explosives," Sarah yelled wide eyed.

Casey blinked, shaking his head. Devon looked up from dressing the wound.

"Sarah, he might go into hypovolemic shock…"

Sarah slapped him hard again.

Casey's eyes steeled and he spoke slowly. "Carina put the whole bag against the door. Pull a timer out and set it for forty-five seconds. The code to activate it is Forty's inauguration date. Put it in."

"What the - Sarah, what is he talking about?" They could hear a confused Carina through the mic.

"The _Gipper_." Casey interrupted, and Sarah could see he was slipping out of consciousness.

"Casey, we don't have time for this. What's the damn code?"

"Jesus, Walker. 200180." _The date Ronald Reagan was inaugurated. _Get far away. It's going to be a big bang."

"Forty-five seconds, Casey?! Walking cast, remember?"

"Move your ass as fast as you can, Carina."

Carina knew there wasn't time to argue, and did as instructed. She set the timer and hobbled as far away as she could, dropping behind the van for protection.

Carina could feel the van forcefully move, pushing her when the explosion went off. When she looked around the van she was dismayed to see the steel shutter was dented but not blown off like she thought it would be.

"Casey, it barely dented the steel shutter. Did you have any more explosives, something more powerful?"

"That was all I had. I never expected to have to blow up Fort Knox. Did the director send a team yet?" Casey asked.

"ETA, ten minutes." Carina responded.

Everyone was taken aback when a cold voice spoke behind them. "Get me to the computer console. I might be able to shut it down."

Sarah jumped and moved quickly to Chuck's side but when she looked into his eyes, it wasn't the soft brown she'd seen earlier, but the black lifeless eyes of Agent Michaels.

_I'll save you my Angel. I love you and I don't even know your name._

"Chuck, what do you mean?" Sarah asked.

"I should be able to shut it down. Help me to the computer terminal."

Sarah stared incredulously at the man who spoke. It didn't sound like the man she loved. It was a stranger.

Devon and Sarah reached under each arm, and lifted Chuck, hefting him to the seat in front of the bank of computers.

Chuck wavered in the chair a bit, but took a deep breath, and started typing as fast as he could.

The others watched him in silence, and after three minutes, Chuck turned and looked at the expectant eyes trained on him that were hoping for a miracle.

"Their encryption is a lot higher than I expected. I can't shut down the self-destruct but I was able to shut down the computer wipe. I was able to download this. It contains the names of most of the Fulcrum agents." Chuck handed Sarah a flash drive with all the data he'd been able to find. "I can open the door. You'll have to hurry. It'll open in exactly one minute. Get Casey ready to go."

"No, Chuck, we won't leave you behind. I lost you once and I won't lose you again," Sarah cried.

Chuck looked at his Angel. He had to save her. She'd saved him so many times. It was his turn now.

"You don't have much time - please go," Chuck pleaded. Something about this woman agent made him want to protect her. Her misty blue eyes spoke so much that he couldn't decipher.

Devon looked confused. This wasn't Chuck. This was someone he didn't know. So cold and emotionless.

Sarah held onto Chuck's arm, not letting it go. She wouldn't let him go. Not after she'd spent the last few months mourning him.

"Get Casey to the door. I'm right behind you. Fifteen seconds till the door opens. Get in position," Chuck stated.

Devon looked around nervously wondering how these people handled situations like this all the time. _I've white water rafted, climbed mountains and parachuted from airplanes but this scares the crap out of me._

"I need some help, Sarah," Devon moaned as he tried to pick up Casey.

Sarah looked at Chuck and tried to pull him from his seat to go with them.

"Go, my Angel, Casey needs help. I'm right behind you," Chuck pleaded. "I need to finish here."

Sarah looked around, hoping Chuck would relent, but he'd returned to the keyboard leaving her to begrudgingly help Devon carry Casey to the door.

They dragged a semi-conscious Casey out the door and down the hall. They were still ten feet away when the steel shutter made a groaning sound. The damage from the explosives kept it from opening all the way but did open far enough that they could crawl under, pulling Casey behind them.

After Casey, Sarah and Devon were safely out, they turned to wait for Chuck, and the door slammed shut again before any of them could move to stop it.

Sarah ran back to the steel shutter screaming at the top of her lungs. "Chuck, Chuck. You promised. Open the door again."

Carina pulled Sarah away from the door, her ear mic counting down the time until the self-destruct. Chuck had saved them. Sacrificing himself to save them.

They had barely made the cover of the van when the ground shook and it was pelted by pieces of debris from the building.

Casey looked back after the explosion and looked at the building falling down upon itself. _A true American hero, not once but twice._

Devon was holding a screaming and crying Sarah. The man she loved was lost to her again.

Xxx

After the steel shutter had closed again, Chuck tried to get it to open again but once the countdown reached three minutes remaining the computer locked out all users.

Chuck tapped on the keyboard again and again but there was no response. The lock out was to stop anyone from getting cold feet and surrendering when the thought of death started to become a reality.

A thought struck Chuck. While steel shutters made the building impenetrable, it wasn't a long term solution. It was temporary to allow escape. Eventually they would break through the shutters.

It was then that he pulled up the schematics for the building. There had to be a secret exit, a way to get away before reinforcements arrived.

Chuck was getting tired; his eyelids were beginning to droop. He'd saved his Angel - that was all he cared about. He smiled to himself knowing she was safe.

His side began to hurt and he looked down and saw the dressing. Blood was starting to seep through it. He didn't remember what had happened. Had he been wounded?

_I love you, my Sarah. I'll always love you. _Chuck thought as his head dropped and landed with a thud on the keyboard.

Chuck, not Agent Michaels, was in control and he wondered what he was going to do.

_Oh crap oh crap oh crap, there has to be way – think think! _

And, then, he saw it on the schematics. There was an elevator that went down to a sub basement and that led to a long tunnel, ending almost a quarter mile away in another warehouse.

Rushing to the elevator, Chuck heard the countdown voice chime down the hallway. 'Thirty seconds to self-destruct.'

The elevator was hidden in the corner behind a seemingly innocuous closet door. Pulling it open quickly rushing inside. Once he pulled the door shut, he pressed the only button, down. Just before the doors closed, he heard the voice again 'Fifteen seconds to self-destruct.'

The elevator came to a stop and Chuck ran out of the small elevator, knowing that he had only a few seconds to escape. Whoever had intended to use this as an escape route left a pack on the floor. He grabbed it, hoping it contained something he could use and threw it over his shoulder as he stepped into the tunnel. The explosion shook the very ground he was standing on. The lights in the tunnel went out and he was in total darkness. Pieces of cement began to rain down from the roof.

Stepping to the side, and putting his right hand on the wall he moved as quickly as he could toward the other end of the tunnel and hopefully escape. He'd read once that to get to the center of a maze that you put your right hand on the wall and follow it, to escape the same maze you used the left hand.

Chuck could feel the rise of panic when the tunnel quickly began to fill with smoke. He kept his hand on the wall, forcing himself to push forward. He bent over coughing, struggled to get air after the first hundred yards. He started to falter; first he fell to his knees and crawled; ten feet after that he was on his stomach trying to avoid most of the smoke.

Chuck was almost at the end of his rope; he felt like he couldn't go on. The smoke was tearing at his lungs and his eyes were burning and he had to keep them closed.

Lying on the concrete, he was about to give up, when his mind focused on his Angel. She stood just in front of him, urging him to come to her, begging him to keep going. He pulled himself closer but she took a step back and he was again forced to pull himself closer.

His Angel was telling him she loved him and never wanted him to leave her. She would save him, no matter what. The tears streaming down her cheeks made him want to keep going.

After what seemed like days and hundreds of miles that he'd dragged himself, Chuck noticed he was no longer choking on thick smoke. Chancing opening his eyes and losing his Angel, he noticed the air had cleared somewhat and he could make out a doorway a ways down the tunnel. It was open and he could feel fresh air on his face. Sucking in a deep lungful of the smoke-free air, he was suddenly aware of an intense pain in his chest and stomach.

Rolling onto his back and then sitting against the wall, he looked down at his torn shirt. The rough surface of the tunnel had caused many abrasions on his chest and the side of his stomach was bleeding freely. Struggling to stand, he used the wall to support himself and went through the door, stumbling into an open area filled with empty boxes and packing crates.

Slanted rays of light were coming in from the windows and he could hear sirens in the distance. Looking for a door to the outside, he noticed light coming from an old office at the rear of the building.

Agent Michaels took over. The existence of the secret exit told him that the only people that might be there were Fulcrum and that they had escaped like he had.

Xxx

Casey was lying on a gurney in the back of an ambulance, trying but failing to sit up. Devon just kept telling him to lay back and let him help him.

The effects of the concussion that had dogged him since his beating at the hands of Fulcrum was still affecting his balance.

"I put a dressing on your leg wound but we need to get you to a hospital. Lie still for a bit and I'll let you sit up. Carina is taking care of everything," Devon said. He wished he could've called Ellie and told her that Chuck was alive. Now if he ever told her anything it would be to tell her Chuck was dead again. Better to never say anything, even if the government agencies ever gave consent, he didn't want to put her through all of that again.

"Where's Walker?" Casey struggled to say.

"Not good John, I think she's having a breakdown. Losing Chuck a second time…she's sitting on the back of the ambulance and keeps repeating that she loved Chuck. Carina tried to comfort her but I don't think it helped."

"I need to talk to her. Can you get her in here?" Casey asked.

"I'll try."

Devon tried to coax Sarah to move into the ambulance but she'd resisted so he just picked up the grieving Sarah and sat her inside the ambulance on a seat near Casey so he could talk to her. Then, he walked away to give them some privacy.

"Sarah, Sarah," Casey spoke in the most commanding voice he could manage.

Sarah looked at Casey and he saw the lines of tears streaming down her face and her disinterested eyes.

"Chuck loved you, Sarah. Carina said he spoke of his blonde Angel coming to him in his sleep. I never knew where that came from until I realized it was Chuck. It was you, Sarah, even though they did something to his brain, he still kept the memories of you. He saved you. It was his final act. Honor him, don't let his sacrifice go. He wouldn't want that."

"Casey, I've already lost him once, I don't think I can go through it again. I already miss him so much," Sarah cried.

Xxx

Chuck approached the lighted office, keeping his body pressed tightly to the wall. When he reached the window he peeked inside to see three men inside two standing around a desk talking animatedly while another was obviously unconscious handcuffed to a chair.

Chuck only saw two of the faces but he fell to his knees in an instant when he flashed. His head was in his hands. The two he saw were the regional commander of the FBI, Edward Standish, and the other was Daniel Shaw. Despite the pain in his chest and stomach, he forced himself to stand. He looked around for a weapon; the only thing he saw was a vast collection of fluorescent light tubes and some construction lumber.

Finally remembering the pack he had dragged through the tunnel, Chuck looked inside. No weapons except for a few concussion grenades and a pack of C4 with a timer attached.

_Just my luck. Okay, maybe time for a diversion at least_, Chuck thought to himself. It was the best he could think of at the moment. He picked up one of the pieces of lumber, a sturdy board about three feet long.

Moving to the glass light tubes, he positioned himself out of sight and began tossing them out into the open spaces to crash on the cement floor.

Chuck could see that the men in the office were startled to hear the abrupt noise. Standish rushed out of the office with his gun drawn. Chuck swung the piece of lumber and hit him over the back of the head.

Chuck quickly jumped on the man and grabbed the weapon that had fallen from the unconscious man's hands.

Chuck moved to the door and aimed the gun at the other agent standing in the room.

"Agent Michaels, or should I say Mr. Bartowski, put the gun down and we can leave. I now have both the man who created the original Intersect and the man who is the Intersect. Today is my lucky day."

Chuck looked at the handcuffed man and fell to his knees again. So many images flooded his brain; this was the man he'd wanted to search for. The man who could remove this curse from his head. It was the elusive Orion, the man who had created the Intersect.

"I can make do with one of you. Which shall it be?" Shaw taunted. Shaw began to raise his gun

When Chuck looked up he was no longer Chuck but had again morphed into the persona of Agent Michaels and a lopsided grin appeared on his severely bruised face.

"Agent Shaw, Fulcrum is done. I'm giving you the chance to surrender."

Shaw looked at Chuck and laughed. _The audacity of this man, he was Daniel Shaw_. Raising his gun and pointing it at Chuck he laughed again.

"I think you'll be coming with me."

"I don't think so."

Chuck looked into Shaw's eyes and lifted his gun. They fired their guns almost instantaneously but Chuck was slightly faster. His bullet pierced Shaw's heart throwing him back to land on the table. The bullet meant to be between Chuck's eyes was off target and hit him, just grazing the skin near his temple.

At the last moment before Chuck lost consciousness he tossed the C4 pack he'd been holding. He needed help, hopefully this would bring help and it was his last thought before passing out.

Xxx

Carina heard the explosion and immediately dispatched agents to check it out. She followed as fast as her walking cast would allow. The pain was incredible and she knew she would need the leg reset but now was not the time.

Carina called into the communication device she'd been given when the main force had gotten on site and she'd commanded that she was in charge. "What have you found?'

"Four people; two of them are dead and one is close. Another is handcuffed and unconscious. We need an ambulance for one of them if you want him to live."

"Get the paramedics there. Now," Carina screamed.

She could hear the agents calling for the ambulance as she finally ambled into the warehouse.

"Oh my god, it's Chuck. If you don't save him I'll kill you myself!" Carina screamed, brandishing her gun. She saw the head wound and the blood seeping from his stomach.

Carina called to Sarah and Casey but they weren't answering. They must have removed their ear mics after the explosion. She had to tell them that Chuck was alive.

"Agent Mitchell, I want Casey, Woodcomb and Walker here in ten seconds. Tell them Chuck is alive," Carina threatened waving her gun at the man.

Mitchell ran the almost quarter mile in less time than an Olympic sprinter. He was out of breath when he arrived but managed to spill his story between ragged breaths to Devon Woodcomb who was sitting on the back of the ambulance

"Agent Hansen said to tell you Chuck is alive."

Devon jumped up and ran to the driver's seat yelling over his shoulder as he took off in the direction Mitchell indicated.

"Carina says Chuck is alive, in a warehouse up the street," Devon spit out as he maneuvered the ambulance toward the warehouse.

Sarah had become wide eyed at the mention of Chuck being alive and was out of the back and headed into the building before Devon even had the vehicle at a full stop.

Devon grabbed his bag off the seat and took off after Sarah ignoring Casey's demand to help him get out of the van.

Sarah followed the corridor to the only room with a light on, and quickly glanced around looking for danger. She fell to her knees and pulled Chuck to her, crying in his ear.

"Chuck, Chuck?"

Devon was only seconds behind Sarah and had to pry her away from Chuck so he could assess his condition. The dressing he had applied to his stomach was gone and it was bleeding again. His most urgent concern was for the head wound, the weak pulse, and labored breathing.

Devon turned to the agent standing guard in the corner, "Get the gurney in here, we need to get him to a hospital or we'll lose him."

Casey came in being helped by Agent Mitchell and Carina pointed her finger at the two agents. "You heard him, go."

Sarah was sitting on the floor beside Chuck, holding his hand like it was her lifeline. Her eyes were pleading with Devon to save Chuck while at the same time looking lost.

Xxx

The ride to the hospital had been even more dangerous than the ride Sarah had subjected them to earlier. Casey had pushed the two agents away when he said he would drive. He wasn't going to let a mere leg wound stop him. He steeled himself knowing he wouldn't let his friend down. It wasn't a question of ability but drive and desire. He would save Chuck. Walker was in the back and Carina was in so much pain it was left to him. Damn useless CIA pukes would probably obey all traffic signs and lights.

Casey used the sirens and lights to his advantage, cruising through red lights and stop signs, never letting up on the gas pedal. If he'd had his Vic it would have been a smoother ride.

The occupants of the ambulance were being tossed from side to side. Devon called the hospital to tell them to prep an operating room. He needed them to be ready for Chuck.

Holding Chuck, Sarah whispered her words of love to him. She was frantic that they might not make it in time.

When the ambulance screeched to a stop in front of the emergency entrance, two doctors and several nurses were already waiting. They yanked the doors open and pulled the gurney out ready with an IV and blood.

Sarah was left behind as the surgical team pushed Chuck toward the operating room as fast as they could. Devon was shouting instructions and inserting the IV before they even made it to the door.

Xxx

Sarah paced outside the door, ready to charge in with her gun drawn. She had been forbidden to enter. Dammit, she needed to know how Chuck was. She needed to hold his hand and know he was going to be okay.

Casey had been admitted for treatment for his concussion and gunshot wound. Carina was in a room getting her leg reset and a new cast. She was all alone; no one to help her deal with the inner turmoil she felt every time she thought of what her life would be like without Chuck.

She'd lost him once, she wouldn't lose him again. That much was certain.

Sarah had chambered a round and clicked off the safety about to find out for herself, when Devon pushed the door open and smiled at her. "Chuck's going to be fine. We made it in time."

Sarah collapsed onto the chair she'd just stood from. "Can I see him?" She looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"He'll be in recovery. For another half hour and then moved to intensive care. You can see him then. Can I call Ellie and tell her?"

"Are you sure he's okay?" Sarah asked.

"Yes Sarah, can I call Ellie? Please."

"Call her Devon; let her know we all need her."

Xxx

A/N: Hope you enjoy. If not let me know how I can get better.

Thanks to all the readers who left reviews and all who put alerts on this story, I hope you like this chapter too. I love you, not as much as I love Sarah but close, actually not even close but thanks.

I thought the next chapter would be the last but I don't think I can fit everything in so there will be at least an epilogue after.


	10. Chapter 10

**I don't own Chuck or anybody else in the Chuck world. **

**A/N: So, so sorry for another long delay, real life and a certain frustration with getting what I wanted to get done didn't help. **

**I really don't know how to express all the gratitude I feel to jagged1 for all her work. She keeps saying she is having a hoot doing this but it keeps her away from writing her own story. For that I apologize to everyone waiting for another chapter of 'Chuck vs. the Upgrade'. She told me she has an idea for the next chapter so I'll be waiting just like you. Almost done this so then I can nag her. Ha-Ha. You should really read it, it's great.**

Anyway, like always if you find some small part that you like it is because of her and if you don't blame her anyway. Ha-Ha.

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and I hope you enjoy this. Please leave a review and I do apologize for not replying to your reviews. I will get that done this weekend. Long weekend here in Canada so I've got some time.

I want to wish a special 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' to jagged1. I'm sure she got Chuck as a gift and the first thing she did was renew Chuck for Season 4. The best news I've heard since they said Shaw was dead but we know how that turned out. Ha-Ha.

Xxx

Chapter 10

Xxx

Devon handed the phone back to the nurse at the desk and walked over to where Sarah was standing. She was looking longingly through the window in the door, down the hall where Chuck was.

"She's not answering her cell. She must still be on duty. Not supposed to have cell turned on in the hospital. I didn't want to leave a message when she can't call me back."

"Why can't she call you back?" Sarah asked absentmindedly, while pressing her forehead to the window.

"I lost my cell somewhere today. I'm not sure where, but I don't care. I can get another later."

"Uh huh," Sarah replied, not really listening.

"You don't think anything happened to her? That these creeps found out about her?"

"Mmmm hmmm. Yeah."

Devon grabbed Sarah by the arm and turned her to look at him. Her eyes were glassy and wet from tears. "Sarah, I asked if they could've found out about Ellie and Chuck and something happened to her."

Sarah gave her head a shake. "Devon, I'm sure she's fine. There's no way anyone could've found out about her. They didn't know that Chuck was Michaels so I'm sure she's safe."

Devon was still talking but Sarah wasn't paying attention. She was going over in her head how her life had changed with three little words. Not the three little words that she longed to hear from Chuck but the three little words Casey had said.

Chuck is alive.

Not that long ago, she thought her life was over when she thought Chuck was dead. Now that she knew he was alive, her heart was pounding every time she pictured him.

She still hadn't been sure it was Chuck; he looked different but once she looked into his brown eyes, her heart had confirmed it was him. No one had ever looked at her with so much love.

Making up her mind, she turned to Devon and said. "I can't wait any longer. I have to see him."

"He's still in recovery; we'll have to wait until they move him to a room," Devon said as he put his hand on Sarah's arm.

Sarah shrugged off Devon's hand and pushed open the door. "You can wait here if you like but I'm going to find him."

Xxx

The incessant ringing of a cell phone woke Carina from her drug induced sleep. Grabbing the offending device she punched 'accept' and spoke in a slurred speech.

"Hansen secure."

"Agent Hansen, where is Agent Walker and why are you answering her phone?"

Carina's eyes snapped open when she heard the voice on the other end of the phone.

"Director Adams, I'm sorry. I … I don't really know where Walker is. She gave me her phone when they stormed the Fulcrum headquarters."

"Well, find her. I want a debriefing in thirty minutes. I want Major Casey and Agent Michaels there too."

"Yes sir, about that..." Adams had already hung up before Carina could finish her explanation.

Now all Carina had to do was figure out where she was, where Sarah was and where Casey was. For a spy, that would be easy, at least she thought it would be until she tried to get up and fell back on the bed. Steeling herself, she shook her head and moved her legs over the side of the bed.

Noticing she had a new cast on her leg and it hurt like hell, it all came back to her like a dream that had been forgotten. Once she had one piece of the puzzle, it all fell into place.

Wondering how she was going to move around, her eyes alit on a wheelchair in the corner. Hopping over to it she sat and moved to the door. Getting the door open and pushing herself through was more difficult than she imagined but she managed, and moved down the hall in search of her targets and a pair of crutches. Wheelchair meant broken, crutches meant merely damaged. It was a fine line but to a spy it was always about appearances and how they themselves viewed their own situation.

Xxx

The plane was still taxiing to the hanger and he had his phone in his hand. He needed to find Beckman's team. No, he had to find Michaels. Beckman had made that clear. Calling the sleeper team leader in LA, he asked, "Did you find the team? Beckman lost contact with them."

"I've got a John Casey admitted an hour ago in Santa Monica General. I've verified that it is Major John Casey. I have one of my men on site. What are your orders?"

"Anyone else admitted at the same time? I'm looking for the entire team."

"My agent has confirmed that a woman with a broken leg was admitted but she had no identification on her and a man with multiple gunshot wounds all at the same time. No names. The only reason Major Casey was id'd was because of his dog-tags."

"I'm on my way; I'll be there in thirty minutes. Have your team there but keep a low profile."

"Understood, Doctor, I'll meet you at the rear entrance."

Xxx

Carina had convinced the orderly to give her a pair of crutches. He had suggested she return to her room and await a doctor. She'd grabbed his wrist and put him on his knees with tears in his eyes until he promised to provide her with what she wanted.

Once she oriented herself to her new mode of walking, she made good time and in minutes she was demanding to know what room her partners were in.

"I'm sorry, I just came on shift. What are their names?"

"John Casey and Carson Michaels," Carina snarled while she leaned over the desk.

Typing on her computer the nurse came up with one hit. "John Casey is in room 424 but we don't have a listing for a Carson Michaels."

"Check again?"

"I did, there isn't a listing for Carson Michaels."

"They would've come in at the same time as John Casey," Carina prodded with a dangerous look.

"When John Casey was admitted there were three others admitted within a fifteen minute time frame. There was a woman with a broken leg. I guess that would have been you? There was a man who died of gunshot wounds, and a man who was DOA from a traffic fatality. I'm sorry but that's it," the nurse replied, worriedly looking at Carina's face.

"Thank you," Carina said as she let a tear escape and left to find Casey.

_Shit, Chuck didn't make it. No wonder Walker isn't around, she's lost him twice. I wouldn't want to be Beckman right now. She's probably on her way to DC right now to put a bullet between her eyes. The bitch deserves it._

Hopping her way to the elevator Carina pressed the button and wondered about Casey's condition. How was she going to tell Casey that Chuck was gone after all he'd done to try and save him? Pressing the button for the fourth floor she steeled her features and suppressed her emotions. Now was not the time.

Pushing her way into room 424, Carina collapsed into the chair beside Casey's bed. He was thrashing about and talking in his sleep. She couldn't understand what he said but she knew in her heart it was about Chuck.

Grabbing his shoulder and giving it a shake she was surprised when his eyes opened quickly and took in her tears.

"Carina, what happened?"

"He's gone, Casey. I don't know where Sarah is but if I was her I would be on the next flight to DC to kill Beckman."

"What do you mean, he's gone?" Casey asked in a soft voice.

"There was gunshot victim admitted when we were, no ID but he died. His body is probably in the morgue by now with a toe tag declaring him a John Doe. We can't let him be buried that way. He gave his life for his country," Carina got out between sobs.

Casey looked at her and then reached over and pulled her into an embrace. "I won't let him die a nobody twice. This time he will be buried a hero."

Carina enjoyed the hug but eventually pushed herself away from Casey and informed him that Director Adams wanted a debriefing in about five minutes.

"There's no damn way I'm reporting any of this to Beckman. That bitch, what she did. I hope Sarah does kill her."

"Carina set up the conference."

Xxx

The doctor who had accosted Sarah and Devon and ordered them out of the recovery area shrunk back against the wall when Sarah flashed her gun. He was slightly mollified when she showed her seldom used CIA badge and demanded to be told what room Chuck was in.

Sarah pushed open the door and rushed to the side of the bed Chuck lay on. She took his hand and brought it to her lips, pressing a soft kiss.

Chuck had machines all around his bed. Some were beeping while others were hissing. There was barely room for her there.

"Sarah, we shouldn't be here. Chuck just had major surgery and needs his rest," Devon said as he sidled up to the other side of the bed to get a good look at him.

"I needed to see him. I can't let anything happen to him again."

Looking down at Chuck, Sarah saw the bandage on his temple and the bandages on the left side of his face. It was a face she might not have recognized if she passed him on the street. If not for his brown eyes that had looked at her when they'd found him in the Fulcrum headquarters, she wouldn't have believed it was him.

She only hoped he was still the Chuck she loved. The man who had stolen her heart.

"Devon, I love him and lost him. I'm not letting him out of my sight again."

"Sarah, I don't think Chuck is going to be awake anytime soon. Don't you think you should check on Carina and John?"

"I'm sure they're fine. Carina had a broken leg and Casey had a concussion and a gunshot wound to his leg. Why don't you go find them and tell them Chuck is going to be okay? I'm not done here, it's been so long," Sarah said as she leaned down and placed a kiss on Chuck's forehead before moving her lips to his ear. "Chuck, please don't leave me again. I love you."

Devon started to move out of the room before a thought occurred to him. "I need to call Ellie again anyway."

Xxx

Sarah's cell phone was on speaker. "Do either of you know where Agent Walker is?" Director Adams asked.

"No Sir." Carina and Casey chorused.

"This is a cluster. You involved a civilian and you blew up two buildings. The only good that came out of the whole operation is that the man you found in the warehouse is Orion - the original designer of the Intersect. You prevented them from creating their own Intersect."

"Director, a lot happened that you need to be aware of," Carina said.

"Get on with it; explain what you seem to think can offset this disaster."

"The building here in Santa Monica that was destroyed was Fulcrum headquarters. We were able to download most of the computer onto a flash drive that I'm sure contains many names of Fulcrum agents all over the country, maybe the world."

"That is good news, hold onto it right now and protect it with your lives. As soon as I find someone I can be sure I trust I'll have it picked up. What else? You said you had a lot to tell me?"

"Director, I only recently found out that Agent Michaels is actually the original Intersect Charles Bartowski. General Beckman somehow wiped his memory and did something to his brain. He didn't remember anything but he was still the Intersect," Casey said.

"That is great news," The director gushed.

"Not really; he didn't survive the gunshot wounds he received at the hands of Fulcrum," Carina added, trying to hold back her emotions in front of her superior officer.

"Is there anything else?"

"No, sir," Carina said.

"I'm tasking a team to lock down the hospital. They'll be there in thirty minutes. They will know nothing about your operation. Their codename will be 'Umbrella'. Protect that flash drive."

Xxx

Devon was at the nurse's station again, trying to reach Ellie and again she wasn't picking up. Deciding to try calling the hospital and having her paged ended in the same result. He was told she must be busy. Starting to get worried, he hung up and turned to the nurse. Maybe John or Carina could get someone to go check on her.

"What room is John Casey in?"

Looking at the screen that still had the results that the scary redhead had demanded, she replied. "Room 424."

Rushing to the elevator, Devon stabbed the button, getting more impatient as each second passed. The door finally opened and Devon had to wait while people debarked before he could get on. Willing the door to close, he shut his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. The beep of the elevator arriving at the desired floor brought him out of his deep contemplations.

Looking to the wall for directions he turned right and heading down the hall fearing the worst. His imagination was running rampant; he could envision Ellie being held prisoner or being tortured for what she knew. When he arrived outside the door of room 424 he hesitated, and then knocked. He didn't want to disturb deadly secret agents that might be able to kill him with a flick of their wrists.

Carina pushed herself away from the embrace Casey had held her in since the briefing ended and she'd broken down in tears. Her agent mask descended and she took the gun Casey offered, moving to the side of the door. 'Come in'.

Devon pushed open the door and started to enter, when he saw Carina standing off to the side with a gun leveled at his head. _Oh shit._

Carina lowered the gun when she saw who it was. "Devon, what happened to Walker? Where did she go?" Casey asked fearing the worst.

"She's with Chuck. I really need your guys help right now."

"What do you mean, she's with Chuck, she's dead too or sitting in the morgue with him?" Casey growled as he started to get out of his bed.

"What are you talking about? Chuck is in recovery and Sarah is sitting with him. I need your help with Ellie."

Carina grabbed Devon by the arm and spun him around to look at her. "The nurse said the gunshot victim that came in at the same time as we did had died."

"Sarah said she got the nurse to change the admission report on Chuck. More likely intimidated her to do it," Devon said with a smile.

"Chuck's alive?" Carina cried.

"The nerd cheated death again. He must have a guardian Angel," Casey grunted.

"According to Chuck, he does and she has blonde hair," Carina laughed.

"I need your help. I can't reach Ellie. Can you get someone to check on her? I'm worried they might've found out about Chuck and took her to get to him."

"I'll get a team to the hospital right away," Casey answered reaching for his room phone.

"Call her again. There's no way they connected her to him this quick," Carina said as she pushed Sarah's phone into Devon's hands.

Devon's hands were shaking as he dialed and waited through the longest five rings of his life before he heard the most wonderful sound he'd ever heard. "Hello."

"Ellie, I've been trying to get a hold of you for over an hour. Where have you been?" Devon replied as his eyes lit up.

"Devon, what's wrong? I was in the emergency room on duty and you know I have to turn my phone off."

Suddenly, Devon was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to say. "Uh … Ellie." Looking to Casey and Carina for help, all he saw was blank expressions.

"Devon, where are you? Sharon said you rushed out with your bag. Did something happen? What aren't you telling me?"

"Ellie, its John Casey." Devon responded in a rush. "He was in an accident and they called me."

"John Casey from the Buy-More? Is he okay? Why would they call you?"

"I never asked why they called me. He's in Santa Monica General," Devon said in a flustered voice; he didn't know how to lie convincingly. He so wanted to tell her that her brother Chuck was alive but he didn't want to put her emotions on overdrive for the drive down.

"Is he going to be okay?"

Casey was grimacing and grunting at every word out of Devon's mouth and it was all Carina could do not to laugh out loud at the discomfort Casey was feeling.

Devon was looking at both Carina and Casey begging for some help. His lie was thin and it was getting thinner by the minute.

"He'll be fine; just a little bruised and a concussion."

"I'll see you at home later then," Ellie replied.

"No wait." Devon was struggling with how to get Ellie down there and not cause her to panic.

Casey was snickering and Carina smiled before she made motions of eating and sleeping.

"Ellie, why don't you come down here? We could have dinner and then maybe stay the night. We both have tomorrow off and it would be nice."

Ellie was confused and it showed in her voice. "I'll see you in about an hour then. I need to go home and have a shower and change."

"I'll see you then, Ellie. I'll be at the hospital."

"Thanks for all the help guys," Devon said after hanging up.

"What room is Chuck in?" Carina demanded as she moved to grab her crutches.

"He's still in recovery. The only way Sarah got in was she showed her gun and a badge."

"I have a gun, too," Carina reminded Devon.

"Let them have a moment, the team will be here in a few minutes," Casey grunted.

Xxx

Sarah was sleeping, Chuck's hand clenched tightly in hers. She never wanted to let it go again. She dreamed of the time she'd been told he was dead, that she would never see his face again and the turmoil she'd felt. The only man she truly loved was gone. She woke with a start and was reaching for her weapon when the door opened.

It was the same doctor she had scared into letting her into Chuck's room. He was accompanied by an orderly and a nurse.

"Excuse me, we need to take this man for some tests," the doctor said somewhat worriedly. "Maybe grab a coffee. We won't be long"

Sarah considered denying the request but she wanted Chuck back more than anything so she allowed him to be transferred to a gurney for the trip to down the hall. She stood looking at the figures retreating down the hall. Maybe it was time to check on Carina and Casey. She wasn't sure how long Devon had been gone.

Xxx

After Chuck had been deposited in the MRI room the doctor dismissed the nurse and orderly. He turned as the door opened again. Being a CIA doctor prepared him for this kind of situation.

"Doctor Waters, is there anything I can help with?" He secretly hoped he would say no so he could escape.

"Please leave; I have guards on the doors and the halls. No need for you to be here."

The doctor hurried out of the room thankful, that he'd been dismissed.

Doctor Waters pulled a syringe from his pocket and injected something into Chuck's IV port. He waited a few minutes until Chuck's eyes opened. They were open but blank.

Placing an open laptop on Chuck's chest he started to speak. "Agent Michaels, Carmichael, whatever your name really is. I'm so sorry for what I did to you in the name of 'National Security'. I took an oath, a Hippocratic Oath. I have defiled that by what I let General Beckman make me do to you." The doctor looked into Chuck's eyes and continued. "I'm going to download the Intersect without everything that we added. I'm going to give you everything that was redacted. I hope it will give you your life back."

Waters put on his dark glasses and pressed enter on the laptop. Images flashed across the screen at an incredible speed and Chuck's eyes seemed to come to life for the time that the download lasted only to go back to the blank look once the images stopped.

"That's all I can do. I hope it's enough," Waters said as he closed the laptop and left the room, signaling his team to follow him and the doctor to come take Chuck back to his room.

Xxx

A/N: Hope you enjoy. If not let me know how I can get better.

Thanks to all the readers who left reviews and all who put alerts on this story, I hope you like this chapter too. I love you, not as much as I love Sarah but close, actually not even close but thanks.

Okay, for those of you who said you didn't want the story to end so soon I have great news. I had too much to try and explain and fit into the story that there will be two more chapters. It would've gotten real confusing or a chapter so long that it would scare people. Hopefully they won't take as long to get out.

If you get impatient waiting, send a PM to jagged1 and tell her to get on my case. She once threatened to find me and twist my arm if I didn't get my ass in gear. LOL.


	11. Chapter 11

**I don't own Chuck or anybody else in the Chuck world. **

**A/N: I sound like a broken record, I'm so sorry for another long delay. I don't have a good excuse this time. **

I have to thank the amazing jagged1 for all her help and encouragement in getting this chapter out. I hope you like it but as amazing as she is she can't make a diamond out of a piece of coal. Only time or Superman can do that.

Good news and bad news, story is still not over and at least one maybe two more chapters. Hope it doesn't get too confusing.

Xxx

Chapter 11

Xxx

"I'll call you when he's ready to go back to his room," Doctor Jackson, the resident CIA approved doctor at the Santa Monica hospital said, as he urged the orderly to leave the area, hoping he wouldn't notice anything amiss with the man in black standing in the edge of the shadows.

Xxx

"I really am sorry," Doctor Waters stared into the vacant eyes that started to drift closed from the sedative.

Waters closed the laptop, and slid it under his arm. He studied the face of the young man who had just absorbed what was as close to the original Intersect as he could find. It contained all of the redacted files that Beckman had her mindless gnomes remove. He had made sure to keep the super spy crap out. This man needed peace.

Doctor Waters walked out of the MRI room and Jackson stopped him by placing a hand on his arm. He looked at Waters with disgust evident on his face. "Should I prepare a death certificate?"

"I hope that won't be necessary. You don't need to know the details, only that he is now under the effects of a sedative. Here's my number. Call me if he wakes up. I don't know if he will and if he does he might not be cognitive of his surroundings or even functional. Monitor him and report your findings to me. Keep him hooked up to the EEG and send the results to me hourly."

Jackson nodded as Waters walked away flanked by his detail of agents. _Why did I ever become involved with them? Sure they had paid off my student loans and it seemed exciting in the beginning. Now I'm in so deep I can't get out; one word from them and I'm dead. I've helped some agents but the sum of the things I've been forced to do tears at my conscience. The greater good always superseded my oath to help people and that was all I've ever wanted to do._

Calling for the orderly to come back and help return Chuck to his room, Jackson began thinking of what to tell the scary blonde agent that was probably waiting for his return. The deathly glare she had given him when he'd first denied her permission to his room scared him. Then later, the look she'd given him when he'd taken Chuck away to be examined by Doctor Waters gave him the feeling that she was somehow personally involved with this man.

_I didn't think agents were supposed to fall in love?_

Waiting for the orderly, the doctor moved into the room and looked at the man lying on the table. Examining Chuck, he felt better when he realized that overall his vitals were in the normal range, obviously in a sedative induced sleep. The only thing that was troubling was there was no dilation of Chuck's pupils when he shone his pen light into his eyes. He was tempted to actually move the patient down the hall and perform a CAT on him to somehow assuage his conscience, but he had specific orders from Doctor Waters. 'Take him back to his room and monitor closely'._ That's why he wants the EEG; this man might have suffered permanent brain damage._

The orderly came into the room, trailed by a nurse and after a nod from the doctor; they pushed the gurney out of the room and down the hall back to his room. The doctor followed, mentally preparing himself.

Sarah had been pacing back and forth outside Chuck's room when she saw the gurney turn a corner and then the doctor following. Throwing caution to the wind, she ran to intercept them and find out what the doctor had to report. "Relax, agent, his vitals have stabilized but we're keeping him sedated for the time being."

A large smile appeared on Sarah's face and she directed it to the man lying on the gurney. "How long until he wakes up?"

"Depends on him. If you'll excuse me, we need to get him back into his room."

The doctor checked the IV once Chuck was placed back in his bed. He then hooked up the EKG that gave a reassuring beep … beep meaning a normal heartbeat. When he hooked up the EEG he studied the screen for a few seconds before checking the connections and then again studying the monitor. He quickly shut off the monitor and switched it to the remote monitor at the nurse's desk where the results would be recorded and sent to Waters. It showed a flat line, no brain activity at all. _What had Waters done to this man?_

Sarah was standing on Chuck's uninjured side when she noticed the look of concern on the doctor's face. "What is it?" she asked.

"Nothing, just remembering what he looked like when he came in," the doctor lied. "I'll be back later to check on him."

Sarah leaned over Chuck and began to trace the parts of his face that didn't have bandages, memorizing his new features._ I don't care what you look like, Chuck, just please come back to me. Open your eyes and let me see the man I fell in love with._

Sarah sat back in her chair after whispering in his ear and pressed a kiss to his lips. "I love you, Chuck."

Sarah was thinking of better times when she realized there were no better times than when Casey had told her that Chuck was alive. A smile erupted on her face. That was the greatest moment of her life. If she lived to be a hundred, no moment would ever equal or surpass that second. _It was the second my heart mended itself. It had been shredded before, but now was whole._

Xxx

Casey looked around the room, wondering if it was safe to talk. Was anything safe now that they had destroyed the Fulcrum headquarters? We have the flash drive; Fulcrum will send everything they have to get it back if they know.

"Carina, do you really trust the Director? I think we should keep quiet right now about Chuck being alive," Casey grunted as he tried to get out of bed.

"I … I just don't know anymore. Let's wait a little while until we can secure a van and an escape route in case we have to move."

"What do you mean; you don't know if you can trust your own bosses? Can anybody in this business be trusted?" Devon asked at the absurdity of the situation.

"Devon, I want you to go back down and check on Bar… no names, go wait for Ellie. You can trust us; when the security team gets here, I don't want them to know about any of you. Carina, I want you to go with him and make sure they're safe and take the flash drive with you. I'll deal with the team. I'll let them think they're protecting me."

"Casey, Devon can go down and check. Sarah's got a gun and she can protect them."

"In her state of mind, I'm not sure what she can do that."

"Okay, then take the gun and be careful," Carina said as she pressed the gun into Casey's hand. "Come on Devon, let's get out of here."

Carina pushed herself out of the chair and reached for her crutches but Devon grabbed her arm. "Let me help you."

Carina smiled and pushed his hand away. "I'm fine." She made her way to the door on her crutches. "A gentleman would get the door, though."

Devon followed closely behind Carina, ready to help if she needed it. He could tell that she was in pain by the way she moved but she insisted that she didn't need any help.

Xxx

Chuck's mind was in a state of flux. He could feel someone holding his hand and squeezing it gently. He felt the warm feeling it gave him, it made him feel safe but wondered how he knew it when he couldn't see who it was. A voice invaded his mind and everything seemed better. A myriad of images were floating slowly through his mind and with each new image more things became confused. Nothing made sense, one image told him he was Agent Carson Michaels, the next told him he was Agent Charles Carmichael but the most disturbing was the final one that told him he was Chuck Bartowski, nerd herd supervisor at a Buy More. This one made the least sense so he filed it away at the back of his mind and concentrated on the first two.

_I must be on a secret mission, but what is the mission? I can't seem to remember that. I had partners; a redheaded woman who seemed to take joy in putting her hands on me and making me feel uncomfortable. Every time she did that, I felt the overwhelming feeling that I was being unfaithful. Then, there was the big, military type who grunted a lot and whose body language seemed threatening. No names, just images of them and rolling footage of their actions._

_Pushing these to the side, more images appeared: a short woman in a military uniform and her red hair pulled back severely into a bun. This woman did more than use body language to threaten; he felt she actually verbalized it. _

_More and more images appeared. A brunette that seemed to be smiling at him from every picture he saw of her in his mind. A short man with a beard that smiled at him a lot. He wished he had a name for any of these people. They were all strangers, no seeming connection to him the pictures ended and he relaxed. Were these people part of his mission? A cover created by the CIA?_

_Chuck's head started to hurt and then the image that startled him the most. It was a picture of his Angel; it wasn't the same as the others. This one drilled into his brain and he couldn't seem to let this one move on. She'd saved him on many occasions. He remembered her coming to him in his sleep when he needed her the most. He racked his mind for a name but it was always just out of his grasp, just like the beautiful woman was. Maybe I'm dead?_

Xxx

Upon hearing of Beckman's involvement and her use of a civilian from Agent Hansen and Major Casey, Director Adams had immediately headed over to see General Beckman. He had his secretary call her and tell her he was on his way. He didn't care if it was late and he didn't have an appointment. He needed to confront her about what she had done. Knocking and pushing open the door without waiting for any response, Adams entered the room and sat, ignoring the glare from Beckman.

Adams held up his hand before she could start a tirade about his behavior. "General, I know what you did to Chuck Bartowski. You don't deserve to wear that uniform. You deserve to be in prison for what you did. You took a man who never asked for the Intersect but agreed to help us. Then you faked his death and you had your team of lab rats wipe his brain. You took away his life and you probably would've ordered his death if he became unstable or he was no longer of any use to you or he became a liability."

Beckman's mouth was still hanging open from his accusation, but she managed to regain control and begin her defense. "I did what had to be done; I did it for the security of the country. You would've done exactly the same thing."

"No, Diane, I wouldn't have. I would've asked him. He always helped of his own accord. He was a patriot. He was a man with high moral standards."

"What do you mean 'was'?"

"He's dead. I just spoke to a team in L.A. Your team, they confirmed that he died of gunshot wounds suffered when they took down the Fulcrum headquarters in Santa Monica."

"That's not possible, I would know if…"

"Do you really think your team would report to you after they found out what you did? I'll be filing a report and an official complaint with the head of the NSC. You'll be lucky if you don't face a firing squad," Adams threatened before he stood and made his way out of the room and back to his own office.

Beckman had her phone in her hand before the door even closed. _The director of the NSC owes me a favor or two, time to collect, _Beckman thought with a smirk.

Xxx

"Doctor Waters, this is Doctor Jackson. I've done what you instructed but I think you should see the EEG. I'm sending it now. There's been no sign of brain wave activity since you left."

"Are you sure it's functioning properly, all the electrodes are connected?"

"I've double and triple checked; there is also no dilation in his pupils. I think he might be brain dead."

"Continue monitoring and send me the results every half-hour. I'm hoping this is a temporary condition. Discuss this with no one."

Xxx

Carina and Devon arrived at the door to Chuck's room and looked in through the small glass window before entering. Having seen Sarah's reaction around Chuck, it was best to be careful. Neither wanted to have a knife sticking out of their chest. They saw Sarah sitting in the chair on Chuck's right side, holding his hand. It was his uninjured side and the side that didn't have machines and wires preventing her from getting close. She seemed to be in rapt concentration, staring at his face and rubbing circles on the back of his hand while talking quietly.

Devon pulled back and whispered to Carina. "Think we should give them a few more minutes?"

"No time, we need to get things in place and you have a girlfriend that you need to meet. She'll be here in about ten minutes."

Carina knocked and then announced their presence before entering. "Hey Sarah, how is he?"

"I'm not sure; I think the doctor is hiding something. He said Chuck's just sedated but from the look I saw something else is going on. I was about to go confront him about it but I didn't want to leave Chuck. Think you could work your magic and find out for me?"

"I'm not really at my best for seduction but I could give it a go. If not, I'm sure I could scare it out of him," Carina replied with a deep throated laugh.

Devon cleared his throat. "Ladies are you forgetting I'm a doctor. Let me examine him. It's what I do."

Devon moved to the bedside and checked Chuck's vitals. Pulling a penlight from his shirt pocket he forced open Chuck's eyes and flashed the light and grunted, a frown coming over his face. Then he moved onto the strip of paper coming out of the EKG machine and ran his eyes over the last ten minutes of the read out. Satisfied that Chuck's vitals had stabilized, he looked to the EEG machine.

"That's strange, they have him connected to an EEG but they have the monitor shut off."

Both Carina and Sarah looked perplexed by his statement.

"What does that mean?" Sarah asked in her quiet voice.

"I'm not sure, either they don't feel the need for this information while Chuck is unconscious or they don't want you to know what the machine is saying."

A quick punch of the button and the screen lit up revealing what Devon feared the most. The EEG was a flat line. He watched it for a full two minutes waving off question from Carina and Sarah as he concentrated on the read out.

Sarah and Carina looked on in concern as Devon concentrated on the machine. Finally, Devon turned to the two women and spoke in a sad voice. "The EEG is a flat line, no sign of brain wave activity. Even a person in a coma has spikes of the brain. I'm sorry but unless something is wrong with the machine or the connections …" He trailed off as he checked all the connections and the position of the electrodes.

"What aren't you telling us, Devon?" Carina demanded.

Sarah choked back a sob; the CIA had made her take a class as a field medic. You never knew when it might come in handy for yourself or your partner. She knew that no brain wave activity meant brain death.

"Devon, would the drugs they have him on be affecting him? Preventing his brain from showing activity?" Carina asked.

"I'd have to know what drugs they have him on. His chart doesn't specify what they are pumping into him. Do all of you spooks not tell anybody anything?"

"That's why the doctor was acting so strangely. I'm going to cut his heart out." Sarah said as she pulled a knife out and fingered the blade.

Devon again checked Chuck's pupil's and was surprised when they dilated. "Wait!" When he let the eyelids drop back down he then notices eye movement. Something only someone in deep REM sleep would experience.

"Sarah, his eyes just moved," Devon said excitedly. "I don't know what's going on. The machine is working properly but for some reason nothing is registering." Devon again checked Chuck's eyes and then noted the elevated pulse, a sure sign of a disturbing dream. "What the hell is going on? The EEG still isn't showing any brain activity."

Devon shook his head when the solution came to him. "They're only checking for delta and alpha brain waves, because they have him in a drug induced coma or under a controlled sedative." Pushing a button on the monitor to show all brain waves Devon was excited when the machine started to emit a chorus of beeps indicating significant activity. Chuck wasn't brain dead, he was alive and even though he was asleep he was thinking as an alert person. His beta waves were through the roof and he was somehow cognizant of his surroundings even though he was in a fugue state.

"I'm not a neurologist, we need someone to take a look at him but I think …" Devon trailed off as his name was paged throughout the hospital. "Ellie must be here. What do I tell her?"

"Bring her here. We have to protect Chuck and everyone close to him. Casey is handling the 'umbrella team'. Until we get the go from him, we're on our own. Go get her. I'm going to find the doctor and have a little chat," Carina threatened.

Sarah looked at Chuck and then shifted her gaze to Carina. "Save some of him for me."

Xxx

Casey was sitting up in his bed with the gun Carina had left with him, waiting for the team to arrive. He was taking no chances. If they showed the slightest bit of overt actions, he would take them down. He'd already been burned by an NSA black ops team. A CIA black ops team could be just traitorous.

The knock sounded on the door. "Come in."

"Major Casey, I'm Agent Duff. Code Name Umbrella."

Casey looked at him suspiciously.

"We are a team of ten; I left four downstairs to guard each entrance. I have one on the elevator at all times and the rest are strategically located. All I know is you are a person of importance. I'm not authorized to know any more than that. Director Adams was quite specific; Protect but ask no questions."

Casey's grip had tightened on the gun in his hand that was hidden beneath the bed covers.

"Please wait outside while I confirm with the director."

Casey picked up the room phone and dialed the number Carina had left for him.

"Adams secure."

"Casey unsecure. An Agent Duff has reported to me. About five-ten, black hair and a badly set nose. Advise if this is your man?"

"Agent Duff's nose is his most descriptive feature. If you noticed it, then it is him. A slight turn to the right," Director Adams laughed at his own joke. His nose is bent to the right. I only sent people I was sure I could trust. My most trusted team. I advise against contact with General Beckman. I just had a meeting with her and she will be trying to cover her ass. She'll go to any lengths to cover up what she did."

"Understood, Director. When can we expect the computer expert to take possession of the flash drive"?

"As soon as I can be sure of a computer expert I can trust. Be careful Major Casey."

Xxx

Devon skidded around the corner in his haste to get to Ellie and prevent her from paging him again. Carina had said that they needed to keep things quiet.

"Ellie," Devon cried as he swept her up in a crushing hug.

"Devon, what is going on? Why are you acting so strange and mysterious?"

"I need you to come with me - don't make a scene. Just come with me and wait until we get there before you say anything. It's important," Devon pleaded.

"I trust you, Devon," Ellie said as she allowed Devon to lead her down the hall.

Pushing open the door quietly, Ellie's eyes opened wide when she saw Sarah standing beside a man and holding his hand and looking at him, adoringly.

"I guess Chuck didn't mean as much to you as you said if you moved on so quickly," Ellie said with venom in her voice.

"You don't understand …," Sarah started.

"I understand everything; Chuck was just a passing fancy. I thought you loved him but I never really understood what a woman who looked like you saw in a nerd like him. He was special but just not to you," Ellie nearly screamed as she clenched her fists and started to make her way toward Sarah.

"Ellie, this is Chuck," Devon said as he grabbed her arm.

"Devon, why would even say something like that. This man doesn't even look like Chuck. Chuck is dead. I buried him. I mourned him," Ellie responded confused.

"Ellie, the government faked his death. They did something to Chuck and changed him. I assure you this is him. He's a spy and they changed him," Devon looked to Sarah for confirmation.

Ellie looked on in disbelief. _Chuck's dead_.

"Ellie, I thought he was dead but once I looked into his eyes I knew it was him. I've loved him for so long," Sarah pleaded.

Ellie was confused. The thought of Chuck being alive made her heart rejoice but cynicism kept her from accepting the absurd.

"This can't be possible; the government would never do something like this," Ellie had tears in her eyes.

Devon pulled her into an embrace but her eyes were still on the man in the bed.

"Ellie, the government does a lot of things normal people never know about," Sarah said.

Ellie looked at Devon and looked deep into his eyes for any signs of deception. "Is it true?"

Carina stepped back into the room at that moment. "I had a long talk with the doctor; it seems when they took him for his supposed MRI, he was excused from the room and a Doctor Waters …"

"I know that name. He was the doctor who was with Chuck after he was hit by the car," Sarah said trying to fill in the story.

"Doctor Waters spent twenty minutes this morning with Chuck off the books. Doctor Jackson doesn't know what he did but I'm sure he was telling the truth."

Everyone in the room looked at the others before their eyes settled on Chuck.

"What did he do?" Ellie asked as she was the first to find her voice.

"He said he doesn't know. He only knows that Waters is a CIA doctor."

"Can we trust him, that he was telling the truth?" Devon asked.

"He told the truth. If I didn't believe him he'd be a eunuch by now," Carina said with a smile.

The occupants of the room considered the information that they had been told.

Ellie was again about to ask if it was really Chuck when the cell phone Carina had in her hand rang.

"Hello," Carina said.

"Carina, its Casey. Vanessa was the code word if he was a captive. Protective detail is on site. I've verified the agent in charge and his identity, an Agent Duff. The director said the umbrella team can be trusted but I'm not sure. I suggest you stay put for the time being. Set up a perimeter. They have men on all the entrances and exits. If you try to leave, it may tip our hand. We'll wait until we're certain."

"Casey, I'm on my way," Carina responded.

"Negative, stay out of sight, Casey out."

"Casey used the safe code meaning he wasn't under duress. We have to stay here for the time being. Once he's sure about the umbrella team, he'll contact us again."

Sarah started when she felt the hand she was holding give a small squeeze back. Everyone's head turned in unison to look at her while Carina pulled her knife looking for danger.

"What is it?"

"Chuck squeezed my hand. I felt it."

They all moved their eyes to Chuck's face. His eyelids fluttered open and closed a few times before staying open. It was a blank look on his face and eyes that were strangely vacant and not really looking at anything.

Sarah looked at the others, and cautiously leaned over the bed, drawing her hand lightly over his cheek.

"Chuck?"

Xxx

A/N: Hope you enjoy. If not let me know how I can get better.

Thanks to all the readers who left reviews and all who put alerts on this story, I hope you like this chapter too. I love you, not as much as I love Sarah but close, actually not even close but thanks.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I don't own Chuck or anyone else in the Chuck world. **

**I again have to thank my diligent and insistent beta, jagged1. Without her help I don't know where I would be. If you like this, it's all because of her. If you don't it's because I didn't listen to her enough.**

**I have to apologize if I missed replying to a review, I guess my writer's block extended to everything. **

Xxx

Chapter 12

Xxx

"Chuck? It's me, Sarah."

Sarah put both her hands on Chuck's cheeks so he would be looking directly into her eyes. She stared into his soft brown eyes and repeated her question.

"Chuck?"

He was staring into the intense blue eyes he'd dreamed about for so long. Her eyes were wet with unshed tears, making them sparkle. When he heard her soft melodic voice, Chuck's eyes began to light up and the corners of his mouth began to lift and a grin appeared. It wasn't the full blown Bartowski smile that made her heart melt and her pulse quicken, but it was a start.

"Can you hear me, Chuck?" Sarah asked, as she continued to stare into his eyes and begged. "Please come back to us … to me."

_A daisy._

_An ICBM silo._

_Two men conversing in a foreign language._

_An ICMB silo._

_A daisy._

Chuck's mouth started to move. He was mumbling something, words that Sarah could not discern, and she leaned in closer to try and understand what he was saying.

Chuck muttered in Klingon. "My Angel, I love you. I have been waiting for you all of my life."

Sarah pulled back slightly. "My God, what did they do to you?" She whispered, and then cursed under her breath. She looked up, confused, towards Devon, who was still on the other side of the room checking Chuck's vitals on the various monitors. She looked down at Chuck's face again, studying his eyes for any sign of recognition.

"Chuck, what did you say?" Her voice cracked. Maybe it was her heart too.

Chuck again responded in Klingon. "My heart will always be for you," Chuck replied before his eyes glazed over again.

"Something is wrong with him. He's speaking gibberish," Sarah said as she turned to the others in the room. Carina stood awkwardly in the corner, watching Sarah and Ellie. Like them, she felt helpless.

"Sarah, let me check him out," Devon moved to the other side of Chuck's bed.

Ellie stood at the foot of the bed, still trying to come to grips with what she'd been told.

_Chuck was alive and the government was responsible. No, not the government but a spy organization that she had always thought was there to protect people, not to them harm. _

Sarah had pulled back slightly to allow Devon to check Chuck's pupils again. This allowed Ellie to get her first good look at the man they said was Chuck. The brown eyes and the small smile on his face convinced her that it was him, even though his other features had changed. The two most endearing qualities that Chuck possessed were present.

"Oh my god, it is Chuck," Ellie gushed. "I'm so sorry Sarah for, for…"

Sarah turned and looked at Ellie with tears in her eyes, silently thanking her for the forgiveness she saw in Ellie's eyes.

"His vitals are normal," Devon interrupted. "But I'm getting some strange readings on the monitors."

Ellie rushed to the side of the bed where Devon was standing and pushed him away so she could get a closer look at her brother. "Why are his eyes so focused yet unfocused?" Ellie asked.

"That's what I was trying to tell you, now that he's awake his beta brain waves have ceased and his gamma have gone through the roof and his theta have increased. This makes no sense. The only thing that would explain this would be if he was having a seizure," Devon studied the read outs, frowning.

"Devon, please. Stop with the medical jargon and tell me, what does this mean for Chuck?" Sarah asked as she held onto Chuck's hand.

"I think…" Devon was interrupted when the phone Carina held started to ring.

Carina moved off to the corner of the room to answer her phone. Ellie and Sarah watched Devon as he adjusted the controls, checking out the reading on the monitors.

"We may need a specialist to make sense of these readings," Devon continued.

"Devon, please, I know you're not telling me something, and I need to know what is going on here. Chuck is awake, why is he not responsive?" Sarah asked with fear showing clearly on her face. "Call who you need, I don't care. I need Chuck back. I need him. I love him."

"He's non reactive again, Sarah. Something is inhibiting his responses," Ellie responded.

"Let me try. He reacted to me before," Sarah said fearful that Chuck might never come back to her.

Sarah moved to sit on the side of the bed and leaned down until her face was inches from Chuck's. She pressed a soft kiss to his lips and whispered to him. "Chuck, I love you. I need you." She then kissed him again lightly on his lips. Devon and Ellie averted their eyes slightly, giving Chuck and Sarah a moment of intimate privacy.

Chuck again started to mumble. The three listened intensely to what he said. Again he spoke in Klingon.

"I will love you forever"

Chuck's eyes closed.

Xxx

"Carina, I just spoke to Director Adams again and he assures me that the 'umbrella' team is reliable and not Fulcrum. He said he's sending someone we know and trust to take possession of the flash drive. When he gets here we will be rid of them. I know I'll feel better once they're gone. I'm getting a bad feeling."

"Casey, are you sure you're safe? I can come up and provide back-up for you."The concern was -evident on her face.

"I'll be fine. I have the gun you left and I don't want them to know about you or the … package."

"Walker's here and I'm sure she has enough knives to protect Ch… the package. I want to make sure you're safe."

"I'm unimportant. All that matters is the package and the drive. Keep it safe. I'll contact you every fifteen minutes. If I miss a call, get out of here. Don't look back and I'll make my own way out."

"Are you sure?" Carina asked hesitantly. "I've always been partial to when you used to call me Vanessa when we were in Prague," she added, giving Casey a chance to give the alert if he was under duress.

"You'll always be Carina to me, first and always," Casey replied with the safe code before hanging up.

Carina came back to the side of the bed and looked at the others. They were watching Chuck's face, looking for any sign that he was responsive, and it made her hurt for them. But, she had a job to do. She surprised them when she spoke.

"That was Casey and he said the director was sending someone to take possession of the flash drive. He said we'll know him and that we can trust him. He'll be reporting to Casey first so he can check him out before we pass it to him. He still doesn't know Chuck is alive so when the flash drive is picked up, the 'umbrella team' will be recalled. Then we can get out of here. I have a safe house not far from here."

Xxx

Sarah waited less than patiently while Devon and Ellie fussed over Chuck. Checking everything about him, they had ignored his injuries before but now seemed to be checking every laceration and bruise on his body. She so wanted to get back to his side and hold his hand. She didn't care if he was speaking gibberish, she only wanted to look into his eyes and rejoice in the fact that Chuck was alive. The man who had broken through her spy walls with only his eyes and his smile.

She'd been tortured before and had never broken but one look at Chuck when he did the Bartowski eyebrow dance and gave her a crooked goofy smile was all it took. She wanted to tell him everything. It was only because of her CIA training that she had held back how she'd felt. He was her asset and she couldn't compromise herself or she would never see him again.

It was always the hardest when he would pour his heart out to her hoping she would respond in kind. So many times she almost crossed the threshold. She'd been ready to tell him how she really felt that time when they were sitting on the fountain but he'd spoken first. He's said she'd never be normal and he wanted normal. She wanted normal too: a great, no, a fantastic guy like Chuck to love her and cherish her forever.

It had broken her heart when he'd told her that they should break up. The tears were in her eyes ready to overflow but she'd been able to hold them back by sheer will. She would always want him but if he didn't want her then she would try to get over it. She'd thought long and hard about asking to be reassigned but then she would never be able to keep him safe and that was all she cared about.

Even if he no longer cared about her, she could still make sure he was safe. She'd learned from Chuck that was what people did for the ones they loved and she loved Chuck and his family and even his friends. Well, most of his friends.

He didn't want a cover relationship, he wanted real and she was too frightened to admit to Chuck that she wanted it to be real too.

The next few months had been filled with false starts by both her and Chuck. The moments that filled her heart with joy were dwarfed by the moments where she felt sorrow and sometimes shame.

It had all culminated when Chuck had then been implanted with the mini Incinerator. It wasn't until the code had been given and it had gone off that she'd had the courage to finally admit her love for him. She'd thought it was too late. Her Chuck was already dead.

She felt so alone, the only thing that had ever meant anything to her was gone. Her life was over. No one would ever fill the hole in her heart that Chuck had left. A special man who loved her for who she was, not for what she looked like.

There had been so many before Chuck who had only looked at her as an object they wanted to possess. It had always disgusted her when men would look at her like that, but Chuck never did. He looked at her like she was a person, more than a beautiful face.

With Chuck, she wasn't only his handler, she was the woman he'd fallen in love with. She had a mind and emotions. He only wanted the chance to love her like she wanted to be loved. Things he cherished in someone he wanted in his life.

Sarah was snapped out of her reverie when Carina shook her shoulder. "What're you thinking so hard about, Sarah?"

"Just thinking about all the special moments I've had with Chuck and how many more I want to experience."

"I always wondered about his weird dreams; how he would start talking in a strange language or something in his sleep. He would start to shake and cry."

"Carina, he's mine. If you slept with him, I'll kill you," Sarah ground out between gritted teeth.

"Relax, Walker. I held him a couple of nights when he was having bad nightmares. I should've known when he talked about his Angel that he was talking about you. He spoke of golden hair, a smile that would make a demon weep and blue eyes that a man could drown in."

Sarah let her guard down and spoke from her heart. "Whenever I asked if you would ever give up the life for someone, Chuck was the one I was talking about. I think I've loved him ever since he smiled that special smile. The one that said I was the only one he was looking at and the only one he wanted to see forever."

"He's the one. Shit. I thought you were talking about that asshole, Larkin. That's why I said what I did. Sex is fine but there has to be more. There has to be a connection. Why didn't you tell me after we stole the diamond?"

"Because of what you said - you said no man is worth it. They will always disappoint you and they were all deceitful bastards."

"I was talking about Larkin. I thought you wanted to give up the life and settle down. Have little Larkin's, stay at home while he was out screwing every woman he met behind your back."

"Then why did you try to seduce Chuck after we stole the diamond?"

"I didn't know. I thought he was cute in a geeky kind of way. He seemed so nice, way too nice to be in this business. I thought he might be a nice distraction and Casey was being an asshole toward me and I just wanted to make him jealous."

"No more Carina, he's mine…_wait,_ make Casey jealous? Do you have the hots for _Casey_?"

It was Carina's turn to blush. "No, it's just….dammit, Walker, stop looking at me like that."

Sarah smiled and pulled Carina into a tight embrace while whispering in her ear. "Don't wait too long. I waited and I thought I lost Chuck. I knew what I wanted but I was too afraid to commit and tell him how I felt. He is my other half, my soul mate. The one few people find in their lifetime." Sarah got somber for a moment. "Most settle or drift from relationship to relationship or just give up and withdraw into themselves. I'm not going to let that happen. Please don't let that happen to you."

Carina pulled back and looked deep into Sarah's eyes, trying to judge the amount of truth she was telling her. She realized that what she was saying had real meaning.

"Sarah, are you alright here? I need to check on Casey. He's upstairs all alone. I need to make sure he's okay," Carina said with fear in her eyes, knowing what it would mean to her if anything happened to Casey.

"I'm fine, go check. Don't wait until it's too late," Sarah smirked as her eyes glanced to the man she loved

Carina turned and rushed out of the room with barely a backward glance.

Xxx

Casey was uncomfortable. Agent Duff had seemed sincere when he reported to him and said that he didn't want to know what was going on. It was only after his second visit to Casey's room that the hackles at the back of his neck had raised.

The seemingly innocuous and innocent questions he'd asked alerted him. Casey had let Duff think he was their only concern but when he came back in, Duff had made an offhanded comment absently about other people and an item of importance. Casey had ignored the implied question and downplayed the whole conversation.

Casey swung his feet off the bed and made his way as best as he could to the door. He pulled it open an inch as quietly as he could and looked out through the crack. What he saw further cemented his feelings. Although he couldn't see the entire face of the man Duff was talking to, the scar was a dead giveaway. He knew he was looking at Tommy Delgado. Fulcrum's fix-it-man, who was supposed to be in a deep dark hole somewhere.

_Shit, I have to alert Carina. If Tommy is here, then I can't use the phone now. They'll be monitoring it and will get her location. _

Casey checked the gun that Carina had left him and ejected the magazine. Five bullets, even at his best, taking down five Fulcrum agents meant five bullets with accuracy. His equilibrium was still off because of the concussion and he was not at his best. There was no way he could take on all of them at once. His only hope was that Duff would come in alone so Casey could take him out. If another came in alone, it would leave only three. The odds would start to swing in his favor.

Just as he was about to let the door slip closed, he saw someone getting off the elevator. It was Carina. Damn. He told her to stay safe downstairs. She was dressed in a nurse's uniform but she'd had the foresight to get one that went well below the knee, hiding most of her cast. He could tell by the grimace on her face that she was in pain. When he'd seen her last, she'd been leaning heavily on her crutches.

_Get out of here, Carina, it's not safe. I don't want anything to happen to you._

Carina moved past the agents and toward Casey's door, noticing the absence of any hospital personnel on the floor. He let the door slip closed before their gaze followed her to his room and the open door.

Carina pushed open the door and immediately her gaze fell to Casey holding the gun. She limped to the chair and sat down heavily.

"Get out of here now, Carina. Tommy is out there so we can assume Fulcrum has control of at least part of the 'umbrella team'."

"I'm not leaving you here all alone. Sarah is guarding the package. I'm here for you. How many do we need to take down and how many bullets do you have?" Carina asked.

"Five men and five bullets. Even at my best I'm not sure I could guarantee five kill shots."

"I raided an operating room on my way up. I've got three scalpels. I'm not as accurate as Sarah, but I'm sure I can slow them down. Not kill strikes but I'm sure it would help. Are you up for it Casey?" Carina smiled as she brandished the knives, a sparkling in her eyes.

"I was going to wait for the first couple to come in one at a time and take them out before I had to go out and face the rest. With Tommy out there it means there might be more Fulcrum agents on the way looking for the flash drive. Chuck must've triggered an alert when he downloaded the files from their headquarters. They want the files before we can get the names of the top Fulcrum traitors in our agencies."

"Maybe I should use my other methods to distract them." Carina said with a smile.

"As much as it would distract me," Casey smirked, "I don't think with your limp and their orders that it would do much good. They're looking for the flash drive. I want you to go back out and get the package out of the hospital. Keep them and yourself safe - for me," Casey said with conviction in his eyes.

"I'm not leaving you to these traitors, Casey. They'll torture you for information once they decide you're alone and don't have the drive."

"I can handle myself; I'll take care of them."

"You can barely stand without looking like you'll topple over any minute and your hand is shaking. I'm here to help you whether you like it or not." She thought about other possibilities. "What if we set off the fire alarm?"

"That would just accelerate their timetable. I think they're waiting for someone before moving on me." Casey looked into Carina's eyes.

Carina made her way back to the door and pulled it open to a slit, looking down the hall. The five agents she'd passed on her way to Casey's room were moving down the hall toward them.

"Damn, get your gun ready. They're on their way." Before she could close the door, she saw one of the men falter before falling to the floor. She then heard a sound like rushing air, and then another man seemed to teeter before keeling over on the floor. Being a trained agent she knew the sound was from a silenced pistol. Three more followed and two of the three remaining agents fell to the ground. She could see that the man with the scar had darted away after his comrades fell. He rolled sideways down an adjoining hallway and scrambling to his feet before running off before another shot could be fired at him. He was holding his arm.

"Someone just took out four of the agents. The one with the scar got away. We have to get the hell out of here now," Carina said as she turned the scalpels in her hand nervously, ready to throw them. Casey was behind her in a moment with his gun ready.

Carina saw the man coming down the hallway and growled. "Shit, not him, not now."

Xxx

Sarah moved to Chuck's side, and grasped his hand like it was a life preserver and she were drowning. His hand felt so warm, she squeezed it, afraid it would be torn away from her at any moment.

Devon and Ellie had moved away from the bed to discuss what they had discovered from their analysis.

Having a moment of privacy, Sarah leaned down and kissed Chuck's lips, hoping for another response. When his eyes remained closed, she moved her mouth to his ear and whispered, "I love you Chuck, please come back to me." She finished her statement of love by flicking her tongue to his ear.

Sarah pulled back to look at Chuck's face, hoping for a reaction but even she was surprised by the look of love in his eyes. His strong arms wrapped around her pulling her to him and pressing his lips to hers for a smoldering kiss that made her toes curl.

Xxx

A/N: Hope you enjoy. If not let me know how I can get better.

Thanks to all the readers who left reviews and all who put alerts on this story, I hope you like this chapter too. I love you, not as much as I love Sarah but close, actually not even close but thanks.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I don't own Chuck or anyone else in the Chuck world. **

**I again have to thank my wonderful and insistent beta, jagged1. (I'm running out of metaphors and adjectives to express my appreciation for all her help, first thing tomorrow download a thesaurus). Without her help I don't know where I would be. If you like this, it's all because of her. If you don't it's because I didn't listen to her enough.**

**Starting to get to the good stuff and thank you for the reviews and sticking with me through all this. Enjoy.**

Xxx

Chapter 13

Xxx

"Devon, we need a neurologist to look at these results. We can't let my little brother lay here like this," Ellie said before the sound of moaning caught her and Devon's ears. Thinking Chuck might be in distress, they quickly turned back to look in the direction of the bed. Ellie at first smiled when she saw Sarah in an embrace with Chuck but when Chuck moved his hands down to Sarah's ass and pulled her tighter to him molding her to him, she started blushing and turned away quickly. Now she knew what Chuck had felt when he'd caught Devon and her in the shower.

Devon's reaction of, "Awesome, Bro," earned him a swat on the arm from Ellie.

Chuck had pulled Sarah on top of him with his arms tightly holding her. One of her hands was cupping his cheek and the other was running through his hair. While he held her to him, his hands started to move up and down her back. The feeling of his fingers running up and down her spine gave her goose bumps but when he grabbed her ass and pulled her tight she gasped and then began to moan. The kiss seemed to go on forever; Devon was watching out of the corner of his eye and was impressed by his little bro. Ellie was still turned the other way blushing at what she'd seen. The kiss was so passionate that she would later term it 'sex-light' or 'sex-medium' judging by the moaning and groping that was going on in the hospital bed.

A gasping Sarah finally broke the kiss and opened her eyes to look at the man she loved. Chuck's eyes were sparkling and the smile on his face made her heart flutter. Sarah wanted nothing more than to continue and take it to the next level but she didn't know if the injured Chuck would be able to handle a fully aroused and hormonal Sarah Walker who had just found her lost soul mate again.

The clearing of a throat brought Sarah back to the present and the realization that Chuck and she were not alone in the room. A red faced Sarah turned to the other two occupants of the room with a smile of bemusement.

"I think he's awake and alert now," Sarah smirked, thinking of what she'd felt while lying on top of Chuck.

"I can see that," Ellie replied while still blushing.

All three sets of eyes went back to looking at Chuck when he spoke again in the gibberish that he'd been spouting since he woke up the first time. 'I love you my Angel, stay with me forever'.

Sarah was fluent in five languages and passable in another six. She could even ask for water or the bathroom in many others. Whatever Chuck was trying to say had too many consonants and not enough vowels. If not for the niggling in the back of her brain that she'd heard it before she would've dismissed it as total gibberish.

"Chuck, talk to me," Sarah begged as Devon and Ellie looked on.

Chuck just looked at her for moment before his eyes drifted closed again.

"What's wrong with him? You have to help him. You have to bring him back to me," Sarah cried.

"I'm going out to find that doctor that was here earlier. I know Carina said to stay here but we need a neurologist to look at these strange readings. It's out of our scope of expertise," Devon said as he opened the door and left the room.

Xxx

Chuck felt as if he was floating; nothing seemed real. It all seemed like the same dream he'd had many times before. His Angel was here and he'd held her and remembered the kiss they'd shared. The only thing was he knew it was a dream. It was a different dream because in all the dreams he'd had about her before; she was always out of reach. She'd said the words he'd always wanted her to say to him. In a moment, he would wake and she would be gone and he would be all alone again.

It wasn't until his eyes faded closed and the images began again that he saw them floating in his mind. Who they were was still a mystery but like every time he closed his eyes, more pictures of them flashed. It was almost like his conscious brain was trying to sync with his unconscious. Much like syncing a blackberry with a computer but the computer had a virus so things were distorted.

_Wow, that sounds like a nerdism_, he thought.

As much as he enjoyed the momentary disruptions when his Angel called to him, he now was unsure of what was real and what wasn't - what was his imagination and what his mind manufactured. It was like someone had taken one piece from hundreds of jigsaw puzzles and mixed them together. Nothing fit and when they did the pictures didn't match.

Taking stock of his situation, he decided he was going to have to concentrate very hard, something that seemed to bring great pain. The first thing he needed to find out was if anything was real. The only way to solve this problem was an intense round-up of his memories or what he thought were his memories. With so many thoughts and dreams going on, this was going to be a difficult job.

First, he would start with what his mind always defaulted to, his Angel. Was she real, were his occasional forays into what he thought was consciousness where she professed her love for him and begged him to come back to her real? He could never remember leaving her so that meant it was probably a false memory. Besides, a blonde goddess that looked like her looking at a nerd like … where did that come from? A nerd? A pasty faced boy with glasses and an overbite, someone who was so into computers and computer games that he was an outcast.

He was just about to try and recall more when he again heard his Angel call to him. He didn't want to respond because now he knew it wasn't real but he couldn't ignore the siren call of her voice and the words she spoke made his heart swell. He so enjoyed these little interludes where he could let himself believe it was true and she did truly love him and wanted him to come back to her.

Opening his eyes he looked at her and smiled at her seeing the concern in her eyes and the love they seemed to convey. It wasn't real but he couldn't help himself as his lips lifted into a smile and she would respond with a smile that made the Mona Lisa pale in comparison.

She called to him. "Chuck?"

Definitely a nerd name.

The gaze from his Angel was so intense that he had a difficult time looking away from her stare to look at the others. Again he saw the blonde man heading to the door and a brunette woman, walking to the other side of the bed. At least his imagination was consistent. The brunette also looked at him with watery eyes but somehow it seemed different, a part of his mind told him that she wasn't looking at him with the same type of love that his Angel did. The tall blonde man looked concerned too. Nothing made sense so he closed his eyes again and reviewed more of his false memories.

Xxx

Casey jerked the door open the rest of the way and fixed the man standing there with a glare that would stop an elephant in its tracks and grunted in pleasure when the man took a step back in fear. The fact that Casey was also pointing a gun at the man's chest helped.

"What are you doing here, Larkin?" Casey growled while pulling the gun from Bryce's hand.

"You look like crap, Casey. I'm here for the flash drive and it's a damn good thing I came when I did," Bryce said with a smirk. "Having a little fun in the room and not watching your back?"

Carina pushed past Casey, pressing one of the scalpel's she'd stolen to Larkin's throat and pushed him up against the wall. "Director Adams personally vouched for the 'Umbrella Team', and Tommy Delgado was with them."

Bryce pushed Carina's hand away from his throat. "Adams sent me because you know me and if the real 'Umbrella Team' had been here they couldn't 'have been trusted. This flash drive contains a lot of information that Fulcrum would do anything to retrieve. Someone on the inside alerted Fulcrum to your location and intercepted the team's orders. I'm your only contact now until this is finished. I'm one of the good guys, Casey; if I was Fulcrum, I could've led them to Chuck and the Intersect when he was alive. Can we discuss this somewhere safer than a hallway where Tommy could come back with some friends?"

Casey grunted and pressed his gun to Bryce's head. "Down the hall and slowly. You wouldn't want me to slip in my crappy condition and the gun to accidentally go off? Carina, call Adams and ask for confirmation. He said Agent Duff was safe and even confirmed the description I gave him."

Bryce offered up an explanation. "That was Agent Duff but the others were Fulcrum. I've been deep cover pretending to be Fulcrum long enough to recognize some of the agents that have defected. I wasn't sure until I saw Tommy with them."

Just as Carina was about to dial Director Adams, the cell phone she held rang. Seeing who it was, she answered right away stopping in her tracks. "Hansen less than secure."

"Agent Hansen, get out of there immediately. The 'Umbrella Team' has been breached, trust no one until Agent Larkin contacts you. I just found out that four members of the team were found shot to death in a car only three blocks from the hospital. He will take possession of the drive and if possible access it. I want you and Agent Casey to look at it together. Someone high up is responsible for this breach and I don't know who to trust right now. Go dark, if you or Major Casey has someplace off the grid, go there and contact me via secure link. I don't want to know where you are."

"What about Larkin? Can we trust him? Casey has a gun to his head right now."

"Agent Hansen, you can trust Larkin, other than him there is only yourself, Major Casey and Agent Walker. I really don't know about anyone else. The information on that drive could destroy many careers. Stay safe and only contact me when you're safe."

Carina closed the phone and hurried to catch up to Casey and tell him what the Director had said but she stumbled, and her leg crumbled beneath her. The pain she'd ignored when she had been worried about Casey came back as a tidal wave. Casey turned and reached for her and momentarily forgot about Larkin.

Casey grabbed her before she could fall to the floor and then he noticed Larkin had turned and rushed to her other side, pulling one of her arms over his shoulder. "Let's get out of here, it's not safe. I know you don't fully trust me, I have a safe house but I'm sure you would feel safer if you used one of yours."

Casey and Bryce helped Carina to the stairs; the elevator wouldn't be safe. An elevator would leave them trapped with no exit but the sliding doors and nowhere to run if Tommy made reappearance with his 'friends'.

Casey made a decision. "We have to make a stop."

"We don't have time. The longer we're here, the more time Fulcrum has to regroup," Bryce argued.

Casey looked at Carina and she nodded. "Bryce, we have some friends on the ground floor that need our help - Sarah and Chuck's sister Ellie."

Bryce looked at her with a confused expression and she replied before he could ask. "You asked us to trust you. You're going to have to trust us."

Xxx

Ellie came over and whispered in Sarah's ear. "Keep talking to him, tell him how you feel, hold his hand." Ellie had a light grin spread over her face. "Anything to get him to react, just hold off on the hospital bed sex until you're alone. I really don't need to see that again."

Sarah looked at Ellie for a moment and blushed. "I can't promise anything. I thought he was dead. I love him so much and I've missed him so much. He's the only one I've ever felt this way about."

Ellie looked at Sarah and heard her heartfelt confession. With a smirk of her own, she said, "Okay, at least keep it PG, I really don't want to see that again."

Sarah was holding Chuck's hand and begging him to wake up again. "Chuck, I love you so much it scares me. I can't lose you again. I would die if you don't come back to me."

Chuck felt someone holding his hand so tightly that it almost hurt and then he felt wetness. He knew the voice speaking to him was his own subconscious but it felt good. "I love you, come back to me." Compelled by the feeling he heard in his Angel's voice, he opened his eyes and decided he needed to exorcise the demons in his brain. He needed to finally prove to himself that it was a dream.

Chuck thought back to the feeling he'd experienced the last time he thought he was awake. He'd finally been able to hold his Angel and he remembered the passion filled kiss that followed. They'd molded themselves to each other and then their tongues started the age old dance for dominance. It was heavenly and it was then that he decided he was dreaming but she kept calling to him, begging him to come back. But, back from where?

Carina slowly opened the door and called before sticking her head inside. She didn't want a knife flying at her head. "Sarah, it's me with some friends. We need to get out of here now."

Sarah looked up quickly and saw Carina and Casey enter the room. Then she saw the man she once thought she had feelings about - Bryce Larkin.

"Bryce, what are you doing here?"

"Adams sent me for the flash drive but we need to get out of here now. It's not safe."

Chuck opened his eyes at that moment and decided to confront his dreams.

"jIH muSHa' SoH wIj Duy [marry] jIH."

Bryce was surprised and answered before he had time to think about it. Only one person on the planet spoke Klingon with such a bad accent.

"Chuck, jIH tul SoH 'oH [speaking] Daq [Sarah] 'ej ghobe' jIH SoH 'oH ghobe' [really] wIj [type]" Bryce replied with a smile.

"Bryce, what did you say to him? I heard my name. What language is that? I've heard it before," Sarah said with a deadly glare.

"It's Klingon. I just told him that I was hoping he was talking to you and not me because he wasn't really my type."

"What did he ask you and who the hell is Mary?" Sarah asked with fire in her eyes while fingering one of her knives.

Bryce laughed and thought for a moment before responding. "He said, I love you my Angel, marry me. I assume it was meant for you."

Sarah turned back to Chuck with tears in her eyes and placed her hands on both of his cheeks carefully before replying. "I love you Chuck and I will marry you. I love you."

"While everyone else was staring at Chuck and Sarah, Casey took one look around and demanded, "Where's Devon?"

Ellie was glaring at Bryce Larkin. Here was the man who'd gotten Chuck kicked out of Stanford, stole his girlfriend and was supposed to be dead. "He went to try and find a neurologist to take a look at Chuck. We're worried about his EEG readings and the gibberish he was spouting but now you've answered that question."

"We have to leave. We're not safe here. I'm going out to find Devon. The rest of you stay here and wait for my call. As soon as I find Devon and borrow any medical supplies we might need, we'll acquire transport and meet you in the basement. Take the elevator. I don't think in your condition you could carry Chuck down the stairs and I don't want to leave the vehicle unguarded. Casey, can you handle getting a wheelchair for Chuck."

Casey growled and was about to make a fierce retort but the situation required clear heads and trust so he held his tongue. "I can handle it."

Sarah looked at Chuck and smiled. '_My fiancé'_. The word felt so right in her mind, and she was smiling back and his eyes looked so innocent. She had **her** Chuck back and she'd learn Klingon if she had to. Hell, she'd get married at a Star Trek convention by a preacher with pointy ears if that's what it took.

"We don't have a lot of time before Tommy gets back with back-up. Ellie, where would Devon go to find a doctor?"

"Try the front desk or the doctor's lounge," Ellie retorted, still pissed that Larkin was alive.

Bryce pulled the door open a few inches and looked out before nodding and pulling the door open far enough to be able to slip out.

"Well, that was just weird. Two supposedly dead people come back to life in one day. I take it Bryce is a spy too? Is everyone here a spy? Oh my God, is Devon a spy too?" Ellie asked blanching at the thought that her life with Devon wasn't real.

"What? No, Ellie. Devon is just Devon, a great guy and a doctor who loves you more than life itself," Sarah replied forcing herself to stop staring into the soft brown eyes of her** fiancé**.

_I can't seem to stop thinking of the one word that makes my heart flutter like a school girl._

"John, you better go get the wheelchair, I'll see about getting Chuck ready…" Ellie started before noticing Carina leaning heavily against the wall with glazed eyes and a grimace on her face. She rushed over and helped her to a chair before Carina fell forward to the floor.

Casey was only a fraction of a second behind her and hovered over the doctor while she checked the nearly unconscious agent.

"Carina, can you hear me?" Seeing no response, she turned to Casey. "Did she get hurt earlier when you were playing super spy?"

Casey grunted. "They only reset her broken leg a couple hours ago and she's been walking around without crutches trying to save us," Casey responded.

"Why didn't you tell me John? I don't have any pain killers to give her right now. Maybe you should get two wheelchairs."

"I'll carry her if I have to. If I put her in a wheelchair she'd skin me alive. If you're sure she's going to be okay, I'll go get the wheelchair."

"She'll be fine. She's just in a lot of pain right now. I'll watch over her, don't worry. Look her color is coming back now that she's sitting down. I don't think I could get near Chuck anyway." Ellie said with a smile.

Casey nodded his head and the slipped out the door.

From her position beside Chuck, Sarah marveled at how her soon-to-be sister reacted to the situation that would turn most people to a quivering mess. Ellie was so strong and even though she'd just met Carina, when she saw how Casey looked at the red headed spy, she was immediately included in her extended family that Casey and her had been in since their arrival in Chuck's life.

Looking over toward Sarah, Ellie quickly asked, "Can you come and keep an eye on Carina for a minute? I need to disconnect Chuck from all the machines so we're ready to go when we get the call."

Sarah squeezed Chuck's hand and then whispered in his ear that she would be right back before moving to the other side of the room, switching places with Ellie.

Ellie called over her shoulder while she pulled the electrodes from Chuck but leaving the IV connected. "Where are we going to go, Sarah? Is it going to be safe?"

"We're probably going to go to a safe house until we can get things straightened out. Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to my family. I'd give my life for you guys."

"Don't say that, Sarah, I've only just found you all again," Ellie said with tears brimming in her eyes.

"I just meant…" Sarah started but was interrupted by Casey bursting through the door. "Larkin just called, they've got transportation and they're waiting at the elevator door in the basement for us."

"Chuck's ready. I just need some help getting him out of the bed and into the chair," Ellie said.

Casey and Sarah came over and moved Chuck carefully into the wheelchair. "Ellie, you push Chuck. Casey can help Carina and I'll go ahead and check the hallway."

Everyone spun around when Carina spoke. "I can push the wheelchair. It'll give me some support and Ellie can keep an eye on things that way. Casey and Sarah can watch ahead of us and behind."

"Agreed, but we need to get moving. The longer we're here the more dangerous it gets," Casey grunted.

Making their way out of the room, Sarah moved ahead while Casey slipped a few feet down the hallway the other way. Once everyone was out of the room, they moved in unison. Sarah was about ten feet ahead, checking doorways, while Casey kept a ten foot distance, checking behind them and the same doorways. The thirty second walk to the elevator was almost anticlimactic. It was almost worse than if something had happened because by the time they reached the elevator everyone's nerves were on high alert.

The ride to the parking level, one flight down, seemed to take an eternity but finally the doors opened and Ellie ran into Devon's arms.

"Over here, babe, we got a van. I've got enough medical supplies to last a couple days. Does anyone know where we're going?" Devon asked looking around.

Carina piped up. "I've got a place. It's off the grid. The only people that know about it are Sarah and I."

Bryce helped the last of his passengers into the van before turning around. "Which way when we get out on the street?"

Chuck had been silent since he'd asked his Angel to marry him and she'd agreed. So entranced by the look of love in her eyes, he hadn't felt the need to speak. The smile he felt upon his face spoke volumes to what he was feeling. He didn't want to speak and break the spell. Even thought it still might be the incoherent dreams of a coma victim, he was overwhelmed every time his Angel looked at him. Her bright blue eyes kept him in a state of constant euphoria that he never wanted to end.

A squeeze of his hand brought him out of his semi-dream to again look on his Angel. Could this really be real? Chuck couldn't help himself and asked again in Klingon. "Is this real? Will I wake up and this all be a dream?"

"Bryce, what is he saying?"

"He asked if all this is real. If he wakes up will it all be a dream," Bryce answered while trying to maneuver through traffic and follow Carina's directions.

"I love you, Chuck. Don't ever doubt that," Sarah said and when Chuck smiled at her she smiled back, her heart breaking that he was still wondering if she was real.

Xxx

Director Adams studied the report he'd just received from Agent Larkin. They were headed to a safe house off the grid. He didn't want to know where it was right now because all information passed through so many hands and he just didn't know who to trust. He would have to wait until things settled down and he had possession of the flash drive. Then he would know who he could trust and then he could start the sweep, taking the traitors into custody.

His report about General Beckman that he'd made to the head of the NSC hadn't even earned him a response. He had a bad feeling about everything. Pulling out his private cell, he called his former college roommate from Yale University. He was now the head of the Secret Service; he needed a meeting with the President and didn't want to go through channels.

The phone rang and when it was answered he quickly spoke. "Bill, I need to see the big guy. Can you help me? It's important."

Bill Granger thought for a moment and then he recalled the voice. The way the conversation started made his response guarded. "Is it important?"

"Very, can you help me?"

"Be here in an hour, I'll meet you outside."

"Thanks Bill, I'll be there."

Xxx

A/N: Hope you enjoy. If not let me know how I can get better.

Thanks to all the readers who left reviews and all who put alerts on this story, I hope you like this chapter too. I love you, not as much as I love Sarah but close, actually not even close but thanks. Please leave a review to make me update faster.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I don't own Chuck or anyone else in the Chuck world. **

**I have the most Awesome beta, (jagged1) on this site, I have to tell you all this. She somehow takes what I scribble and turns it into something at least ten people want to read. I don't know how she does it but I appreciate everything she does. She has written two wonderful stories and they are great, please read them, you won't be disappointed. I keep telling her we all need the next chapter of 'Chuck vs. The Upgrade'. Please help me in this quest. She'll maybe hate me but I need the next chapter.**

**More good stuff to follow. Enjoy. We're near the end.**

Xxx

Chapter 14

Xxx

"What a dump. I could've gotten us a better place," Bryce snarked as he pulled the van into the driveway of the address Carina had finally divulged after having him take many turns looking for a tail. It looked like a ramshackle house where many a drug deal had gone down and Bryce wondered if there were squatters inside now. "Is this the right address?" Bryce asked.

"It looks better from the inside," Carina replied. "Here's the key. Get the garage door and back the van inside. There's a keypad beside the door, enter 46739037, it shuts the alarm off. We can take Chuck to the clean room in the basement."

Once the van was parked and the garage door was closed again, everyone got out of the van. Casey and Ellie helped Carina, Devon and Bryce carried Chuck inside and down the stairs while Sarah followed closely watching, to make sure they didn't hurt Chuck. She knew she should've brought in some of the supplies but she needed to direct them to the clean room and didn't want to let Chuck out of her sight. It was only an hour ago that Chuck had asked her to marry him and she was going to make sure he followed through.

"Can you get the door, Sarah?" Bryce huffed.

"Got it." Sarah slipped past the three men and walked into the room, guiding them to the bed where they could lay Chuck down. "Careful."

Chuck had grimaced while they'd carried him and now, lying on the bed, his forehead was dotted with sweat and his eyebrows were furrowed, trying to deal with the pain.

"I better get the medical supplies. I think Chuck could use a little something for the pain. I'll be right back," Devon said before rushing back out of the room.

Bryce nodded toward the back of the room and Sarah joined him, but without taking her eyes off of Chuck. "What is it Bryce?"

"Sarah, I've read the reports on the Ghost. The things he's done…are you sure he's still the same Chuck?"

"Are you jealous, Bryce?"

"No, Sarah, I only want what's best for you and Chuck. I just want you to understand he might not be the same person he was before. Be patient with him. I'm sorry for sending him the Intersect in the first place."

"He asked me to marry him. I love him. I'll do whatever it takes."

"Just make sure this is what you really want and it's not guilt for letting him die."

Sarah's hand flashed out and connected with Bryce's cheek. "Bryce, if you ever say anything like that again, I'll kill you. I love Chuck and it has nothing to do with guilt. I've loved him for so long but was afraid that if I verbalized, it I'd be sent away. It was better to be able to see him everyday even if I couldn't tell him."

Bryce rubbed his cheek and smiled. "Good, I had to know. Chuck is my only friend in the whole world and I want him to be happy."

Sarah smiled sheepishly before embracing her former partner. "I'm sorry, Bryce. Chuck is the man I love and want to marry. I want to have little Chuck's with curly brown hair and luscious brown eyes. I want it all."

The pain Chuck felt had subsided and he'd barely been able to open his eyes to slits. It was then that he saw his Angel hugging and speaking into the ear of the handsome man that spoke the language of Warriors. It was then that he'd felt a pain far greater than anything he'd ever felt. It was the pain of betrayal, the pain of seeing the truth finally. _Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me._

Chuck squeezed his eyes closed and repeated his new mantra. _A fool and his money are soon parted; a fool in love is forever tormented._

Sarah released Bryce when Devon came back into the room and moved back to Chuck's uninjured side. Grasping his hand she felt such joy. _Little Chuck's, I can't wait to spoil them rotten._

"I'm going to give Chuck a shot of Demerol; it'll help with the pain," Devon reassured Sarah.

Chuck felt the needle in his arm and immediately flinched, his eyes flying wide. He hated needles of any kind.

Sarah was assaulted by the look in Chuck's eyes. Gone was the warm, soft brown, replaced by dark eyes and a look she couldn't fathom. The spark that had been there when he'd asked her to marry him was gone.

"Chuck, are you alright?" Sarah asked thinking the pain was affecting him.

Chuck had heard enough of this new language and assimilated what he could. Confident that he could converse and be slightly literate, Chuck opened his mouth. "I… fined, neeeeeed sleeeep."

It wasn't what he really wanted to say but that was all he could articulate at the moment. He'd let his mind work on the new words that he didn't seem to be able to form his tongue around.

Closing his eyes Chuck drifted off to sleep; unaware that Sarah was left wondering what had gone wrong.

Xxx

Director Adams held his hand out and heartily shook Bill Granger's hand. "I owe you one for this."

"I think this makes us even."

"He'll see you in the Rose Garden. You've only got five minutes," Bill said, motioning toward the gate hidden among the flowers

Xxx

Beckman pulled the bottle from her drawer and poured a large drink before taking a sip. She was extremely happy at the moment, after speaking with General Thomas, director of the NSC. She'd worried that he might not agree with the actions she'd taken. He'd sat silently while she told her story and he put his hands together forming a steeple while listening to her. He'd seemed very pensive when he said he would review the facts and get back to her.

The email she'd received from General Thomas requesting more information before he made a final decision had made her smile. He was considering her position and likely approved. She then knew he was on her side and would back her up when the shit hit the fan, he owed her.

Beckman didn't know that all her email had been routed through the computer of her administrative assistant Gwen Summers and then forwarded to Fulcrum. They now knew what she'd just told General Thomas.

It would be a feather in her cap in the new regime. A better job than that of a lackey to a tiny tyrant, the laugh that came out for her mouth surprised her but she felt so giddy.

Xxx

After giving Carina a shot of Demerol for her pain and leaving her in Casey's capable hands, Ellie rushed down the stairs to the clean room Devon had told her about. Now that they had a translator, she had some questions for Chuck. She wanted to know what had happened and how he'd gotten involved with all these spies.

Her little brother worked at a Buy-More; he was a nerd herd supervisor. His best friend was a nerd like Chuck and they'd spent years sitting around playing Halo, Call of Duty and whatever other video games they could get their hands on. Morgan was always trying to help Chuck get over what had happened at Stanford, but until Sarah came along nothing seemed to work.

Ellie was ready for the full story. She didn't care who told her as long as it wasn't that asshole Bryce. If the story came from Chuck she would need Bryce, but other than that, she couldn't disguise the contempt and hate she felt for him.

Ellie opened the door and silently entered the room. She'd passed Bryce in the hall and if looks could kill he would've be dead ten times over. Devon was checking Chuck's vitals and Sarah was beside Chuck holding his hand and looking at him like she'd just had a shock and was trying to process it.

"Sarah, can I talk to you for a minute?" Ellie asked motioning to the back of the room. Sarah looked at Chuck's face one more time, and then reluctantly got up and moved to the back of the room to stand next to Ellie.

"Spill it. What's wrong? I want the whole story now that we're someplace safe. I've waited and I want to know how my little brother got involved with this."

Devon finished checking Chuck and moved to stand beside Ellie in case she needed support. He put his arm around her waist in a reassuring gesture and waited.

"I can't tell you everything, I…" Sarah started.

Ellie gave her a stern look and Sarah nodded. "You deserve to know everything; I'll tell you what I know. There are some things I don't know, I really thought Chuck was dead and my life was over. I love him Ellie, I want to marry him and have little Chuck's with brown eyes and curly brown hair." The last was said with a look of longing in her eyes.

"I'd bet Chuck would like a little Sarah too, blonde and blue eyed," Ellie smirked.

"It all started when Bryce sent an email to Chuck. It contained the Intersect. A computer program that enabled him to access all the government's secrets and then Casey and I were assigned to protect him."

Sarah told them the whole story, how Bryce had been her partner and how she'd fallen in love with her asset but couldn't respond to his declarations of love or she'd be sent away, reassigned. How she wanted so much to be a part of his real life, how she wanted nothing more than normal.

When Sarah got to some parts of the story she began to sob thinking Ellie would hate her for what she'd put Chuck through but Ellie would always put her arm around her and join in her tears. "I wanted a wonderful man that loved me, for me and a family, something I'd never had." She explained how she hadn't had the courage to tell him she loved him until after she thought he'd died.

"I thought I lost him, I only wanted revenge for them taking the only man I ever loved away. I was deep cover helping to expose Fulcrum when Casey got caught and I rescued him. It was only after I got Devon to help with his injuries, that Casey told us that he'd just found out that Agent Michaels was really Chuck."

Devon nodded, remembering the moment that Casey told them. "Babe, I wanted to call you right away and tell you but Chuck had been taken and they needed my help."

"You're sure you're not a spy too?" Ellie asked with a frown.

"Babe, one spy in the family is enough. I'm just a cardiac surgeon and I have you; that's enough excitement for me."

"Good save, Devon," Ellie said before placing a soft kiss on his lips.

The talk hadn't taken a minute but over thirty minutes. It was then that Ellie remembered the look on Sarah's face when she came into the room.

"Is Chuck going to be okay? Tell me the truth. I saw the look on your face when I came into the room. What's wrong?"

"I don't know, he looked so happy when we got here. I saw the old Chuck that I love so much in his eyes but then, maybe it was the pain but his eyes seemed hard. The sparkle from before was gone."

Devon offered. "When I came into the room you were giving Bryce a hug. Do you think Chuck saw that?"

"Oh my god, if he saw that…" Sarah started before turning and rushing back to Chuck. _I have to explain, I had to make him understand that Bryce is just a friend now, nothing more. I love him._

"Devon, when will he wake up? I need to talk to him."

"I only gave him some Demerol to numb the pain. There's no reason that he can't wake up now."

Chuck had been awake for the whole explanation and heard most of it. There had been some parts where because of the sobs of the two women that he'd missed what they were saying. It had been enlightening. They had been talking about _him._ Supposedly, he learned, he was a nerd. _I already figured that out. _His Angel was the partner of the man who was a Warrior. From what he understood everything else was a 'cover', a way to get him to do what was required.

_I won't make that mistake again._

Sarah was holding Chuck's hand while Ellie tapped lightly on Chuck's uninjured cheek. "Wake up Chuck. It's me Ellie."

Chuck was awake and opened his eyes, but Ellie recoiled from the dark and intense look he gave her. "Chuck are you okay?"

The other reason Chuck had missed out on some of the story was because of the painful flash he'd endured during their conversation. He now knew he could speak English somewhat; he could understand it before but now he understood the specific nuances of the language.

Some of the words now had double meanings. '_Love' meant 'job I hate and am forced to do'. 'Forever' meant 'until my next assignment'. The most revealing was_ the term_ 'Asset' that meant 'expendable when the mission is terminated'._

"Chuck, it's me, Ellie. Devon and Sarah are here too."

Chuck looked around the room. He finally had names to put to the faces. Their names fit; if he were to give them names, those would be the exact names he would use. The only name that didn't fit was Chuck, the nerd name. It was difficult but he was able to find most of the words he needed. "Name isssss, Charlllless Carmichaelsssss."

Ellie looked back at Devon and asked, "How much did you give him?"

"Like I said, I only gave him a small injection."

"No, you're my little brother 'Charles Irving Bartowski' and we all thought you were dead. Please listen to me, we all love you and only want you to get better."

Chuck's eyelids began to flutter and then his eyes rolled back in his head.

"Sarah, is this what you described as a flash?"

Sarah rushed to his side, and grabbed his hand in hers. "Yes, but I've never seen one so violent."

_Xxx_

_This is strange, I can still hear them but it's like I'm somewhere else. Again with the images that meant nothing. Whoa. Now they're starting to make sense._

_Brown haired woman, name Eleanor Bartowski. Doctor, graduated UCLA in 1999. Brother to Chuck Bartowski, deceased._

_Blonde haired man, name Devon Woodcomb. Doctor, graduated UCLA in 1999, engaged to first subject._

_Blonde haired woman, name ?, current alias Sarah Walker. CIA agent extraordinaire, current assignment ?. Former partner and lover of…of, I can't say it._

_Bryce Larkin, the handsome man he'd seen Agent Sarah Walker embracing earlier. Former roommate of aforementioned Chuck Bartowski. _

_Wow, that was weird. How do I know these things and where is the information coming from? _

_Thinking, another image assaulted him. Chuck Bartowski, 29 years old, nerd herd supervisor at a Buy-More. Picture redacted, deceased, former member of Team Intersect._

_Team Intersect: Chuck Bartowski, Agent Sarah Walker, Major John Casey. Commanding officer General Diane Beckman._

_Now we're getting somewhere…now if I can only find out what the Intersect is?_

_Intersect, information redacted, level six or higher clearance._

_Shit, just when I was getting somewhere. I'm missing something, there has to be more._

_Everything revolves around Chuck Bartowski and keeps coming back to him. Why does Sarah Walker keep calling me Chuck and why did Ellie mistake me for her dead brother? _

_I can hear them talking about me, they're wondering what is going on with me. When will all this start to make sense? If this is a dream, is this the best my subconscious can come up with. Even my dreams about beautiful women suck. I never get the babe._

_Xxx_

"Thank you Mr. President, thank you for your support. I'll keep you advised." Director Adams said before he turned and left the rose garden by the gate he entered.

Adams walked over and clapped a hand on Bill Granger's shoulder just as Granger was reading a text. 'Help Director Adams with anything he needs, the country is at stake. BO'.

"You're my contact and the only one besides the President who will be privy to what is going to happen. Let's take a walk. Got anywhere safe where we won't be overheard? I have a story to tell you and then we need your help."

"What's all this about?" Granger asked.

Adams held up his hand. "Not until we're safe. Careers will be ruined in the next few days. This is going to be big."

Bill Granger motioned to a door at the side of the White House guarded by two Secret Service Agents and together they descended the stairs, down a long hall to a room that, once they entered, the door made a sound like an airlock.

"This is the safest location we can be in; no signals can get in or out," Bill said as he motioned to a chair thinking this would be a long discussion.

"Bill, I'll start with what I know. There is a threat to our country by a group of traitors called Fulcrum. They've been trying to take over all the intelligence organizations in the US for years. Corrupting where they could, using blackmail where they couldn't and then there are the 'enlightened ones' that think they can run the whole world better than the respective governments."

Bill Granger smiled and scoffed. "Come on, it can't be that bad. Why do you need my help?"

"The Secret Service is one of the most trusted and highly vetted government agencies on the planet. I have four agents on the west coast who have a flash drive that have the names of highly placed traitors. There is going to be a shitstorm when this gets out. I don't know who else I can trust in my whole Agency. There are certainly true patriots but I have no way of knowing who to trust until we can get this flash drive into the hands of competent people and arrest the traitors."

"What else can you tell me?"

"The President ordered the CIA and the NSA to co-operate on a project called the Intersect. It was computer that contained all the amassed information that we have collected over years. We were ready to experiment putting it into the brain of an agent. Fulcrum somehow got wind of this and tried to steal it. It was sent to a man in Burbank and he absorbed it all. I know it sounds like science fiction," Adams said as he held up his hand to stop any interruption. "He became our asset with two agents to help and protect him. They ran many successful missions before the former deputy director of the CIA found out his name."

"Cut to the chase - what do you need?"

"General Beckman of the NSA found our asset and brain washed him. Now he's dead, but not before he got that flash drive for us. I sent a sleeper team to retrieve the drive but Fulcrum had infiltrated them and somehow found out and tried to kill my agents. I need your help to get that flash drive to the President. After that it's up to him how to proceed. You know show trials will be called a witch hunt. They will call them the McCarthy trials of the twenty-first century."

"My agents are not…"

"I know, Bill, they're not assassins. Help me get that flash drive safe and then I can take over. Forced retirements and threats of exposure will help to destroy Fulcrum. The leaders, I'll leave that to agents I can trust."

"Give me thirty minutes. I'll go over a few files and give you my best and most trusted."

"That's all I ask."

Xxx

Casey shouldered his way into the clean room. Carina was finally asleep after the dose of Demerol she'd received. She would be asleep for a few hours. Ellie had checked the cast and determined that it wouldn't need to be reset. It was just that she'd overdone it with the walking cast.

"What's going on? Where the hell is the Cavalry?" Casey barked.

Bryce responded from the back of the room away from the looks Ellie kept giving him. "We're dark right now. I was just going to suggest that we contact Director Adams."

"Give me the keys. I'm going out to buy a disposable cell. I'll call him from as far away from here as I can get. We can't stay her forever and we need some food. Whatever was in the fridge is beyond edible. I'll pick up some take-out.

Bryce moved to the front of the room. "I'll go with you Casey, I need some air," he said, looking in the direction of Ellie and nodding.

"How's Chuck? Carina will kill me if anything happens to him."

"He's…" Sarah started.

Casey moved to the side of the bed and before anyone could move he shouted. "Open your eyes Bartowski. You're not asleep."

Chuck opened his eyes and stared into the intense blue eyes of one Major John Casey. It was only after he shrunk back from the look that he looked at all the faces staring at him.

"How did you know, John?" Ellie asked still wary of all the spies around her.

"You were so busy looking at his face that you didn't look at his hand; it was tapping a staccato on his leg. What's going on?"

"We don't know" Sarah said.

"Talk to him, Walker. I got some good advice - If you want something bad enough, don't let anything stand in your way.

"Carina likes Chinese; if you don't want that, too bad, suck it up. I think we should give them some privacy." Casey nodded his head toward Chuck and Sarah.

Everyone said they had things to do and quickly moved out of the room. Casey moved to the door and he turned around to look at Sarah. "Don't blow it, Walker. He's loved you forever. This life can get lonely. You can't do this forever and then there can be a lot of alone."

"Casey, I'll talk to him. Can we have some privacy?"

"I'll be back in thirty minutes with the food. I hope you'll have made you're decision by then."

"I've already made my decision. I want my Chuck."

"Good. You'll have to convince him it's true after all that's happened. Make him not only believe it but make sure it's what you want. There will be consequences."

"I don't care, Casey thanks. Knock before you come back in," Sarah said with a smirk and Casey left the room hoping it would all turn out with a favorable outcome.

Xxx

Sarah walked back to the bed and looked at the wide-eyed man she loved who had remained silent during her discussion with Casey. He hadn't said a word and she knew what was about to happen didn't need a translator. She crawled up on the bed and put her head on Chuck's shoulder. She looked into his eyes and then gently kissed his lips.

"I'm sure you flashed earlier. Bryce and I were partners. That was a long time ago."

Pulling back, she looked into his eyes. "You are Chuck Bartowski, my love; don't you forget it. I've missed you. Please, I felt so alone. Put your arms around me and hold me tight. I love you. I don't care if you speak some weird language." Sarah laughed.

Chuck looked into the sapphire blue eyes brimming with tears and pulled her to him. He wanted to feel her warmth, even if it was only for little while.

"My Angel, I…"

"Shush, Chuck. Let me enjoy my fantasy. Kiss me. Do you know how long I've waited for that kiss you gave me before? I feel like I've waited my whole life for it."

"I…"

"Shut up and kiss me. Make me forget my name."

Chuck obeyed the direct command and pressed his lips to Sarah's. Her mouth was already open and ready to accept his tongue. The battle was over quickly as he acquiesced to her demands.

Sarah opened her eyes to slits and she was rewarded when Chuck flashed his sparkling brown eyes at her.

Chuck pulled back breathless. "I love you."

Sarah moaned and replied as best she could while trying to catch her breath. "I love you Chuck. Never leave me."

Chuck's hand began to drift to down from her shoulders, to the swell of her breasts, and Sarah did nothing to stop him. Sarah did everything she could to make him continue what he was doing; it felt so right and so good. Her hands moved and in seconds she had shed her top, jeans and any other clothing she had on. She was beneath the sheet that contained 'her Chuck'. She removed the little clothing that Chuck wore and pressed her naked body against his.

The purely male reaction only made her want him more. She loved him and she'd waited so long for this. She didn't know if he could understand her but she was sure her actions spoke louder than words.

"I love you Chuck. Make love to me."

Chuck moved on reflex and pulled Sarah on top of him. He so wanted the act to express his love and she seemed to feel the same way. Sarah maneuvered herself above him and when they joined each other they both swore they were in heaven. It was an act of pure love.

Xxx

Casey had returned with the take-out food and before entering Ellie heard the groans and moans from the room. If what she'd heard before was sex-light or medium this was definitely sex super-sonic and she didn't want to know about it. She was thankful for the warning that Casey had given her that made her listen before entering.

Xxx

A/N: Hope you enjoy. If not let me know how I can get better.

Thanks to all the readers who left reviews and all who put alerts on this story, I hope you like this chapter too. I love you, not as much as I love Sarah but close, actually not even close but thanks. Please leave a review to make me update faster.

I hope you liked this chapter, jagged1 said it is the chapter that my ten readers have been waiting for. I hope I didn't disappoint.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I don't own Chuck or anyone else in the Chuck world. **

Sorry for the lateness of this chapter, I've been on holidays but I've been busier than while I'm at work. I really need to get back to work to get some rest. Ha-Ha. I was going to hold off on posting this until Friday so I could wish our very own Sarah Walker - Yvonne Strahovski a very Happy Birthday. I'd love to do it in person but to quote Chuck in the pilot. 'Her restraining order is very specific'. **Kidding folks.**

I want to thank everyone for all those who left the wonderful reviews for the last chapter, almost all of that should've gone to my incredible beta 'jagged1'. She'll downplay this, but without her I'd still be stuck on chapter 4.

Xxx

Chapter 15

Xxx

"I want answers," Ellie demanded as she returned to the kitchen with the food she was supposed to give to Chuck and Sarah. She dropped the bag on the table and before sitting, she glared at Bryce, Casey and Carina. The death glare she gave them made each of them shrink back. "Who wants to start?"

The three agents looked at each other, wondering who should start. Each afraid of the woman that was staring them down. At least two of them knew from experience how ferocious Ellie could get where it concerned the welfare of one 'Chuck Bartowski'.

Ellie continued when no one spoke. "Sarah told me that she and John were sent to protect Chuck after Bryce-" Ellie cast a vicious eye at him. "-Sent him the Intersect. She told me how she fell in love with him but was afraid she'd be sent away if she did anything beyond the cover. What I want to know is what happened after you let my little brother get kidnapped and almost killed."

The uncomfortable silence continued for seconds before Devon offered up an explanation. "Babe, from what I can tell, none of them knew Chuck was alive until John told us in the hotel room."

"Devon, I want to hear the full story from the super spies." The way she said 'super spies' made it sound like it left a rotten taste in her mouth.

"Ellie, all I can tell you is what I've figured out so far," Casey started. "Sarah and I were to protect Chuck; we made him stay in the van to keep him safe. We didn't know that the CIA had been compromised and they knew about Chuck, and that they planned a trap and took him."

"What about this bomb they put in his head?"

Casey knew he was screwed. "General Beckman had her techies implant it in Chuck's head. I didn't know about it until afterwards. I didn't like it and told Beckman so, but we live in a dangerous world." Even as Casey said it, he knew it was the wrong thing to say and cringed. He was ready for the assault from Ellie and in the back of his mind he felt he deserved it.

Ellie looked at Casey and held back the tears that threatened to come to her eyes. She needed to be strong for Chuck and she needed answers. "John, are we 'little people' to you? That we're so insignificant to you spies that you use us and then dispose of us when you're done? Should I be worried that Sarah is going to just discard Chuck when she grows tired of him?"

"Ellie, not all of us are machines," Carina glanced toward Bryce. "I only met Chuck once before all this happened. I could see it then. Sarah was in love with Chuck. She wouldn't admit it. I didn't know what was really going on at the time. She said he was a high priority asset and it was paramount that she remain professional."

"You still haven't told me how we got here!" Ellie screamed.

"From what I've been able to piece together, Beckman somehow found Chuck alive after she told us he was dead. She had them perform plastic surgery on him and then brain-washed him into believing he was this super-secret agent. The rest is as much a mystery to us as it is to you," Casey said.

Ellie's eyes blazed and she said in a voice none of them had ever heard before. "I want to meet this General Beckman."

Xxx

Granger walked back out of the White House and nodded to Director Adams to follow him back to the room where they had spoken before. Once settled with the door closed, he started.

"You've got me spooked; I'm looking over my shoulder now. Before you came here and before the conversation I just had with the President, I would've vouched for every man in the Secret Service. Now I just don't know." Granger tossed a file on the table. "These are the files of the four agents I would not only trust with the life of the President but who I would trust with the life of my little girl. I was only going to let you have two of them but the President insisted that you have all four."

"Bill, I only need to get my agents and the flash drive here to Washington. After we get it here we can find out who to trust."

"That's why the President has graciously loaned you 'Air Force One'; he wants this done before they try something really big. The jet is being fueled right now and will be ready to fly in an hour."

"Just before you came back, I was in contact with my agents. I only know they are in the L.A. area. I told them I didn't want them to tell me what was going on over a cell phone, and not to make contact until they were in a secure location. They're going to contact me again in three hours. I'll have them notify your agents when they're on the ground. It's safer that way. No one would dare attack 'Air Force One'."

"I only wish I could give you air support but the fewer people that know about this the better. I had to recall two of them from their day off. If you leave now with the two on duty you should be able to be in the air as soon as the jet is ready."

"I can't go. I have work to do." Adams interjected.

"That was the only condition the President put on this. You be there to greet them. Your agents need to see a friendly or at least familiar face. Take it or leave it - you have to be there to greet them when you pick them up."

"You're not leaving me a choice are you, Bill?"

"Joe, if this is as big as you say; I can't in good conscience not have you on that plane."

"You're right; they've been deep cover for a long time and won't be willing to trust anyone. I better get going. Did you find a computer tech that you trust to look at the drive?"

"I will by the time you get back. I don't have anyone right now. We don't want anyone associated with the government. I've got a search going right now for a hacker or nerd that wouldn't have an outside agenda."

"Hell, you might as well get a nerd herder from a Buy-More," Adams responded with a laugh remembering the job Bartowski had before getting the Intersect.

"That's not a bad idea. Thanks Joe. The agents are waiting at the door for you. Stay safe."

Xxx

Ellie still wasn't satisfied by the answers she'd received but she was willing to let it sit for a while until she could scratch the eyes out of one General Diane Beckman. The conversation had turned to the call Bryce and Casey had made to the head of the CIA. They were to call back in three hours for instructions. Casey had offered explanations and even Carina had jumped in with things she knew. Bryce had sat out of the entire conversation, never saying a word and trying to avoid the wrath of Ellie Bartowski.

Bryce jumped when he heard his name called. He looked up and Ellie looked at him with questioning eyes. "Bryce, how could you do all of this to Chuck? When you were in Stanford you always said he was your best friend?"

"He was and still is my best friend. The CIA tried to recruit him at Stanford. I didn't want that for him. I knew he's a good person. This life changes you. But, I had to send him the Intersect for safe keeping. I didn't know that huge brain of his would be able to download it. I just needed someplace away from spies to keep it safe. If Casey hadn't shot me, I would've retrieved it the next day and none of this would've happened."

Ellie looked skeptical and glared at Bryce again. "So you destroyed his life to save him?"

"Ellie, you've seen us spies at our worst. Would you want that for Chuck? A cold, unfeeling killer? He glanced over at Casey. "No, offense, big guy."

Casey grunted but didn't argue the point.

Bryce continued. "I never knew Chuck would still be waiting for redemption after all this time. I thought he would move on and be safe from us." Ellie looked at Bryce trying to ascertain if what he was saying was the truth. Being a doctor meant looking for visual clues to what people said; to see if they were intimating falsehoods. She couldn't find any, so either what he said was the truth or he was an even bigger liar than she thought he was.

Casey looked at his watch and then broke the silence. "We have to call the director back in about an hour. If we're offered extraction, will Chuck be able to be moved? Carina, how about you? Can you handle a van ride?" Casey reached under the table and took her hand.

"I'm fine, Casey. Ellie was very generous with the Demerol and I don't feel a thing right now. How is Chuck?"

Ellie had forgotten all about the noises she'd heard coming from the clean room and blushed when she thought about it._ I need brain bleach._

"I…I never went in," Ellie blushed even redder. "After what I heard, I ran back up here. God, I'll remember that forever and he's my little brother," she muttered to herself.

"Someone needs to go check on them." Devon offered.

Everyone was looking at the other hoping they weren't the one that had to go down to the basement. Finally Carina spoke up. "Fine, I'll go. Only because we have to get out of here. Bryce, Casey - go make contact again. I only want to do this once. You know when Sarah and I were on assignment we… never mind." Carina started and then stopped when four sets of eyes settled on her. "I'm going."

Xxx

Sarah was lying in the embrace of her Chuck. He was holding her so tight that it was nearly an effort to breathe but she wasn't complaining. It was almost as if he was afraid she would vanish in a wisp of smoke. She felt so safe in his arms.

Time had somehow stopped for them; the whole outside world had ceased to be. There was only the two of them. She couldn't believe how Chuck made her feel. If this was "making love" she wanted it for the next seventy years.

_It had started with her dueling with Chuck's tongue for supremacy. In the beginning she'd fought for all women everywhere but Chuck was unrelenting. Who knew he could be so aggressive__. _

_Her breath had become labored and Chuck didn't let up, he continued to nibble on her neck, her ear and any other place he'd discovered that gave her pleasure. The sensations were heightened by the words of love he spoke in her ear and the way she felt. She only understood about half of the words but his hot breath made it more intimate. She had found him again and she never wanted to lose him._

"I love you, Chuck." Sarah said while her face was buried in the crook of Chuck's neck.

"I love you too, my Angel." He dragged his fingers lightly through her hair, and buried his lips in it, leaving a kiss.

"Chuck, you've always called me Sarah, Sarah Walker. Don't you remember me?" Sarah pleaded with tears threatening to fall. _For you I'll always be Sarah._

"You'll always be my Angel and you always saved me. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen and you look like an angel," Chuck said while looking adoringly into Sarah's eyes. The glow from the bedside lamp behind her seemed to create an aura around her. In his eyes it made her look even more heavenly.

"No Chuck, you saved me. I was adrift and so alone. I thought you were gone and that I'd never get to look into your eyes again."

"Don't cry, I'm sorry. I don't want to make you sad." Chuck wiped the tears from her cheeks.

Sarah looked into the bright brown eyes she'd missed for so long and smiled. "I love you, Chuck."

Sarah moved her face up to Chuck's and pressed her lips to his to show him she was happy, not sad. It was supposed to be a chaste kiss but Chuck pulled her even tighter and opened his mouth and pressed his tongue to her lips. She opened her mouth and moaned when they began the ritual. Chuck's hand began moving up and down her spine and then when she began to quiver he moved his hand to her hip and began tracing patterns on her hip with his fingertips.

Xxx

Carina stood outside the clean room door and listened for a few seconds before rushing back upstairs. The sounds coming from the room made her so aroused that she wished Casey hadn't had to leave to contact the CIA again.

"I think they need a few more minutes." Carina said with a flushed face and no one to help her with her needs.

"They can't still be at it. I'll have nightmares for years from what I heard over an hour ago."

"Ellie, I don't want to go down there again unless someone had a fire hose and uses it."

"Devon," Ellie started, "Can you got down there and knock on the door. We have to be ready to move?"

"If what you two have said is true, I'm not going down there. I'm a cardiac surgeon and I need to protect my sanity. Call Sarah on her cell. Maybe she'll answer."

"Shit, we'll wait until Bryce and Casey come back with orders to leave. It can't go on forever. Can it?" Carina asked.

Casey came storming back into the house followed by Bryce. "We move in one hour, the director said the plane will be landing then and he'll give us GPS co-ordinates for its location. That's all he said," Casey growled wondering if this would be another setup.

Ellie looked hard at Casey and the other two agents. "Can we trust this director?"

Casey flinched and thought that Ellie had missed her calling. "I've never met him but right now I think we can trust him more than Beckman." He turned to Carina and Bryce. "What do you think?"

Bryce spoke first. "I trust him and right now he's the only game in town. We can't stay here forever."

Casey looked around and everyone nodded their heads in agreement. "Okay, let's do it. Are Bartowski and Walker ready to go?"

Carina, Devon and Ellie looked sheepishly at each other and then at Casey. "Fine, I'll get them," he growled.

Stomping down the stairs as loudly as he could, Casey began calling for Sarah and Chuck before he got to the door. "Get ready, we leave in five minutes." He finished by pounding loudly on the door before spinning on his heel and running back up the stairs before he heard something that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Sarah looked up from where she was snuggled against Chuck and stretched her legs out alongside his, one wrapped over his thighs. "I guess that means we have to get up."

"I don't want to let you go, I'm afraid you'll disappear and this will all have been a dream."

Sarah pressed her lips softly to Chuck's and then when she pulled back she looked deep into his eyes. "Trust me, Chuck, this is real and I'll never let you go."

After a few more minutes of passionate kissing and another yell from Casey, Sarah reluctantly peeled herself from Chuck and began to dress. "Chuck, it isn't helping with you looking at me like that with those puppy dog eyes. If you keep it up I'm going to jump back into bed with you," Sarah laughed tossing him the clothes she'd practically torn off him earlier.

Chuck smiled while reaching for the clothes. "I'll remember that for later."

Sarah helped Chuck get out of the bed and then to get dressed. Pulling his arm around her shoulder, she helped him out of the room and up to where everyone was waiting for them.

"About damn time, Walker," Casey growled unable to look her in the eye.

Ellie began to blush when she saw the huge smile on Sarah's face. _Oh God, let me forget what I heard._

Sarah guided Chuck to a chair and then stood beside him holding his hand. "What's the plan?"

"We're going for a ride. We contact Director Adams again in thirty minutes. He'll give us the GPS co-ordinates of the pick-up location.

"So we won't know ahead of time. I don't like it. We won't be able to scout the location."

"He's your boss. Don't you trust him?" Casey snarked.

"I trust him; I just don't like walking into an unknown situation," Sarah pointed out.

"That's why we're going in two vehicles. Bryce and I will go ahead in a car. The rest of you will follow in the van. We'll let you know if it's safe to come in."

Sarah looked at the others and then nodded. "When do we leave?"

"Right now, we need to make a couple stops," Bryce quickly added.

Carina and Chuck were helped into the back of the van before everyone else got in. After picking up three pre-paid cell phones, they proceeded to find a car they could borrow for the scouting mission.

Bryce hopped out of the van at a mall parking lot and walked directly to the employee parking. He pulled up beside them a few minutes later with an older model tan Ford Taurus. In the spy world, that make and model was known sarcastically as the ultimate stealth fighter. "Casey, you ready? Its three minutes till we make the phone call."

"Bring the phone over to the van and put it on speaker. Everyone here has a stake in this and we would all feel better if we heard the conversation."

The phone call was quick and to the point. No names were used, and after a code to confirm identities, Adams gave the GPS co-ordinates and said to meet in thirty minutes at the location.

"You heard him. Let's roll. Sarah, drive the van but stop about a mile away on a side street if you can. If everything checks out, we'll call. Once we're on location, if you don't hear anything from us in five minutes get the hell out of there. You'll be on your own."

Sarah reluctantly released Chuck's hand. She'd been holding tightly since they left the safe house. Before climbing over the seat to drive the van she pressed a soft kiss to Chuck's lips and then whispered in his ear. "I'm not leaving you my love."

Casey threw the used cell to the ground, hearing a satisfying noise when it shattered.

"Got it - be careful."

Xxx

"Director, we'll be landing in two minutes and then taxi to a hangar where we'll refuel. We'll be ready to be back in the air in twenty minutes."

"Good, I don't want to be on the ground out here any longer than we have to be."

Once the refueling was complete under the watchful eyes of the Secret Service Agents, the door was opened and the truck left the area. Director Adams stepped out of the plane after the hangar was again empty. He moved to the front of the hanger to await his agents. Two of the Secret Service Agents moved with him, alert and looking for anything out of the ordinary. They were trained professionals and noticed the car coming without lights across the tarmac before the sound of the engine reached them.

"Director, I would suggest moving behind us until we ascertain it's safe."

"No, if they're my agents they need to see me."

"Fine, but be ready to duck back inside if we tell you."

Xxx

"Casey, that looks like Director Adams. I don't know the other two but I can tell they both have guns at the ready."

"Fine. Pull up. I've got my gun ready too."

Bryce parked the car about twenty feet from the trio of men. He and Casey got out and called to the director. Everyone looked around nervously.

"These men are Secret Service and sent by the President himself. We have a plane inside; it'll be ready to take off in five minutes. Where are Agents Hansen and Walker?'

"They're waiting while we check everything out. No offense, Director Adams, but we need to check out the plane and the hangar." Casey nodded toward the agents.

Adams motioned for one of the agents to remain outside while the rest went inside to check things out.

Once inside the hangar, Casey smiled. He was standing before 'Air Force One'. As an agent who'd fought for the greater good his entire life, this was one true symbol of America. If they hadn't retired the former 'Air Force One' he would be riding in the same plane that his idol 'Ronald Reagan' had probably flown in many times. Forcing himself back to business he started on the left side motioning for Bryce to check right side. Once they'd scouted the entire inside of the hangar, they moved to the plane itself. After a thorough examination of the plane, Bryce nodded at Casey and he moved to the side, calling Sarah.

"It's safe, flash your lights when you get close and we'll open the door and you can pull right inside."

Less than two minutes later the van pulled up beside the plane. When the doors opened the agents started to reach for their guns.

"Who are all these people?" Adams asked.

"We'll explain on the way. The sooner we're in the air, the safer we'll all feel," Bryce said.

"Everyone move to the back of the plane. I want a full debriefing," Adams scowled.

"Yes, sir."

Chuck and Carina were placed on a sofa while the rest took seats around the room. "We'll wait until we're at cruising altitude before we begin. We have to be careful; there is no way anyone will be able to listen in on what is said at thirty thousand feet."

Everyone sat in silence while the plane taxied to the runway and took off. Sarah had moved to the sofa, sitting beside Chuck taking his hand in hers. He hadn't said a word since leaving the clean room and she was worried something was wrong with him.

"Are you okay Chuck?" she whispered in his ear.

Chuck looked deep into her eyes and she saw the pain in his. "I'm just a little tired and I have a headache. I don't know how but I know who everyone is, even those Secret Service Agents in the other room. I know their names, service records and others things about them that I probably shouldn't know," Chuck whispered back.

Ellie looked on, concerned, and when the plane began to level off she moved over to Chuck.

"Ellie, he's got a headache. Do you have any aspirin?"

Ellie moved to her purse and pulled out a bottle of Tylenol and shook out a couple before looking around for some water. She spotted a mini fridge and pulled out a bottle of water and handed both to Sarah.

Sarah opened the bottle and after Chuck put the pills in his mouth, she offered him a drink.

Adams looked on, thinking this is going to be interesting. "I think we can begin now. We'll start with introductions. I'm Joe Adams, director of the CIA and who might you all be?"

Bryce motioned toward the two doctors. "This is Devon Woodcomb and Ellie Bartowski-Woodcomb."

"And him?" Adams pointed to the man sitting on the sofa.

"That would be Chuck Bartowski – the human Intersect"

Chuck looked up at the mention of 'Chuck Bartowski' and mumbled one word. "Fulcrum."

Xxx

A/N: Hope you enjoy. If not let me know how I can get better.

Sorry for the cliffie but I couldn't resist, I keep saying this but one or two chapters left.

Thanks to all the readers who left reviews and all who put alerts on this story, I hope you like this chapter too. I love you, not as much as I love Sarah but close, actually not even close but thanks. Please leave a review to make me update faster.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I don't own Chuck or anyone else in the Chuck world. **

I know I'm shocked too; another chapter so fast. It's only been eight days since my last update. I was inspired by all the wonderful reviews I received for the last chapter.

I have to once again proclaim my appreciation to **jagged1.** The work she does wading through what I scribble. She somehow transforms it into a readable chapter that I hope people want to read. Many thanks to her and as always, I take full responsibility if you don't like it but I gratefully share any praise you may want to put into a review.

Xxx

Chapter 16

Xxx

"What did you say?" Adams demanded as all eyes turned to Chuck. Each of the agents started to reach for their weapons.

Sarah was holding Chuck's hand with her left while she wielded her gun with her right. No one was going to take Chuck away from her again. She needed answers. "Chuck, explain? Who's Fulcrum?" She was looking around the room ready to shoot.

Chuck came out of the flash and saw several weapons drawn with everyone wondering where the threat would come from. "Austin Kelly, the blonde Secret Service Agent in the next room was recruited by Fulcrum two years ago."

"I think we need to have a talk with this 'Kelly', right now. I have a few questions," Casey growled, moving to the door.

Casey stopped when Carina called his name. "Casey, we're the wild cards here. How do you think the other agents will react if we drag him in here for an interrogation?"

"I don't give a damn," Casey growled menacingly again. "I'm going after this traitor."

"Casey, Carina's right," Bryce pointed out. "We can't afford gunplay in a plane at thirty thousand feet. There's no way he could've known about the flight beforehand and I doubt he had time to plan something." Turning his gaze to Director Adams, he asked. "Was Kelly in this room at all during the flight down or after it landed?"

"No, I was the only one in this room the entire flight and he was watching the perimeter while you and Major Casey checked the plane," Adams responded, looking at Bryce. "Is it safe to talk?"

Looking around, Casey grunted. "We still need to do something about Kelly; we just can't let him sit out there. If he recognized any of us, he could somehow get a message to Fulcrum."

"What do you suggest?" Carina asked.

Ellie spoke up hesitantly after listening to the spies discuss how to deal with the man. "Why not just drug him? I'm sure they have something on board that will do the job. He won't wake up until after we land. Will that work?"

"I'd like to question him first," Casey responded with a wicked smile. "I'm sure I'll get him to talk."

"There has to be a medical room on this plane. We can find something there to sedate him. They have to have drugs in case of an emergency."

"Agent Larkin, take them to the medical room and see that they get what they need."

Ellie and Devon followed Bryce out of the room and down the long hallway before they finally entered the infirmary. Cabinets were opened and closed while the search was on for what they needed.

Devon called them over when he found the mother lode of drugs. There were more there than in most hospitals, enough to supply a small country for a couple weeks. "I've got some chloroform and some anaesthetics. That should do the trick. All you have to do is lure him in there."

Once back in the conference room with the drugs they needed to subdue the traitor, they began to discuss how best to get him into the room.

Casey walked over to Carina, who was sitting on the sofa and smiled. "Think you can handle this?"

Carina smiled back. "Why, Casey, are you saying that in my condition I can still work my magic?"

"It does with me," Casey replied before offering his hand to her and pulling her up from the sofa.

Sarah was listening to the exchange between Casey and Carina and rolled her eyes. He was always the one to discourage romance and now he was the one being almost sickeningly sweet.

Chuck began mumbling; his eyelids were fluttering, he was reciting the life and career of Kelly and when he was done with that he began on the other agents in the front lounge.

Carina pushed her red hair back into a pony tail and pulled the skirt she was wearing up as far as even her modesty would allow and then undid a few buttons on her blouse. "What do you think? Am I ready?"

"If he touches you, I'll kill him before he has a chance to talk," Casey growled.

"Easy, Sugar Bear, it's just the job," Carina laughed at Casey's jealousy that had sprung up all of a sudden.

Carina sashayed out the door into the forward lounge where the four Secret Service Agents sat. She glanced around quickly before settling her eyes on the only blonde haired man in the room. She smiled brightly at him. "Excuse me Agent…"

"Kelly, ma'am."

"Agent Kelly, I need a little help in the back. Could you follow me?" Carina said with a smile and a crook of her finger.

Kelly jumped up and smiled at his fellow agents before turning to follow Carina. His eyes quickly saw the cast on her lower leg and the way she limped slightly. That didn't matter when his eyes drifted down to watch her ass. It was poetry in motion; he was transfixed and smiled to himself. He'd heard about these CIA types and how they were very flirty. They would sometimes just pickup men when they felt like it. If his luck held, he'd be joining the mile high club.

Kelly's smile fell when he saw they weren't going to be alone. Adams looked up and addressed Kelly when he got to the door. "Agent Kelly, come in…"

Once inside, the door closed and a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around him. A piece of cloth was pressed over his mouth and nose with the familiar smell of chloroform. He started to struggle but the arms holding him were too strong and the chloroform started to do its work immediately. Within seconds his vision began to blur and then everything went black.

Casey roughly threw Kelly into a chair. "Devon, got the tranquilizer ready for him? This chloroform won't last that long. I'm going to look for some handcuffs or zip ties."

Casey closed the door behind him and everyone again diverted their attention to Chuck. He was still in full recital mode.

Sarah looked at Chuck with a pained expression. She'd never thought of how much information was actually in his head. How much he had to deal with, how much he had to suppress after the mission was over. The things he learned and had to deal with on his own. She wondered how many horrible things he'd flashed on. Things that a gentle man like Chuck possibly knew happened in the real world but had never experienced.

It was like he was reading from a teleprompter. His voice was devoid of life. Everything was in monotone like so many talking heads from the news. He'd finished with lives of the Secret Service Agents and moved on to the people in the plush lounge they were in.

Ellie and Sarah tried to pull Chuck back from his trance but nothing seemed to stop the words from his mouth.

Chuck started with Devon and Ellie smiled when she heard all his academic accomplishments. She already knew about his family and friends but then she heard Chuck mention an arrest in Daytona Beach for public intoxication and skinny dipping. She laughed and looked at Devon on the other side of the room. _That's something I'll have to find out about._

Sarah squeezed Chuck's hand. "Chuck, please stop. You're scaring me. Open your eyes and look at me."

Chuck seemed oblivious to outside stimuli. He continued in his monotone voice. Having finished Devon's life, he started on Ellie.

_Chuck please don't mention the…_

Too late, she thought, as she tried to muffle what was being reported. Chuck spoke of the night she got drunk and took part in a wet t-shirt contest and ended up winning after having many beers and she had peeled her wet shirt off. The charges had been dropped but it was in the damn Intersect. Devon had walked over at this point and smiled. "Hey babe, I want to see that some time."

Ellie blushed furiously but it passed quickly as he moved onto another topic. "Earliest known alias 'Jenny Burton' aka Melinda Soffers aka Stephanie Minor aka Sarah Walker." Chuck cringed. "Aka my Angel. CIA Agent, all missions completed successfully, current mission includes …"

Sarah grabbed Chuck and placed her hands on both sides of his face. Careful not to hurt him, she began to shake him. When he continued on, she slapped his face. "No Chuck, please. Don't, I don't want you to know. Please stop. You promised."

Ellie saw the look of anguish on Sarah's face and the tears beginning to run down her cheeks. Ellie joined Sarah in trying to get him to stop.

Suddenly, Chuck stopped speaking and after a sob he opened his eyes and looked at Sarah. She saw the look of revulsion he felt, he saw her file and knew what she'd done as an agent. He quickly pulled his face from her hands and moved away from her.

"Please, Chuck, I love you."

The look of wide-eyed fear and disgust she saw tore at Sarah's heart. _He knows me now; he knows what I've done._

Sarah looked at Chuck and hoped he would look at her, but he was only looking at the floor. With a heavy heart, Sarah ran out of the room into the galley next door. She whispered to herself, "I'm sorry Chuck; I never wanted you to know what I was before I met you."

Falling into a chair, she put her head in her hands, trying not to think about what she'd lost. More tears came to her eyes and she let them fall. She was an agent always able to complete a mission but she didn't know how to deal with this.

Ellie came in and stood in front of Sarah. "Sarah, give him time."

"I can't, Ellie. You saw how he looked at me. I'll never be 'Sarah' to him again. He hates me and everything I've ever done. You don't have to worry; I'll never bother him again. As soon as we land you'll never see me again."

"That's not what I meant, Sarah. He needs you and he loves you. I've known him all his life and I know what you both need. He needs the woman that loves him more than life itself and he needs the woman he's loved since he met you."

"You saw the look on his face. He hates me. I don't ever want to see him look at me like that again. I just can't."

Xxx

Director Adams was deeply in thought, and he barely noticed the quiet conflict that had happened at the other end of the room. One of the agents, his college roommate Bill Granger, had turned out to be Fulcrum. Then he'd been introduced to Chuck Bartowski, the human Intersect who was thought to be dead after the attack on the Fulcrum headquarters. It was a lot to take in and he started to wonder what would happen when they got back to DC. He wondered where they could be safe until the Flash drive was deciphered and Fulcrum was taken down.

"Agent Hansen," Adams called as he walked over to where Carina was sitting with her head leaned back and her eyes closed. "In light of what has happened, we need to find out who we can trust. We don't have the equipment on board to access the flash drive but we do have the Intersect. Is he capable of looking at some photos to tell us if they're Fulcrum?"

Carina looked over toward the corner where Chuck sat alone with his eyes still wide, staring off into space. Devon was standing over him speaking quietly.

Bryce had gone to the forward lounge to watch the other agents as per the order he'd received from the director.

Casey walked back into the room and had just finished using zip ties on the Fulcrum agent and securing him to the chair and pushing it into the corner. He'd thought about throwing him in the cargo hold but they needed to make sure he didn't get loose.

Casey caught the end of Adams question when he walked up to where Carina sat. He studied Adams' face. "Is that advisable? He seems a little off right now. Where are Walker and Ellie?"

"We have a little over four hours until we land in DC and we need information. We're going to have to find someplace safe for the Intersect and ourselves. Right now, do you know of any place that you are positive is safe? Can you even tell me if the two pilots are not Fulcrum and have not given our location to them?"

Carina looked sheepish and Casey had a scowl on his face. Neither had thought that far ahead.

"Major Casey, take this over to the Intersect. Tell me what he sees." Adams handed the open laptop with a picture displayed on the screen. "If he's not Fulcrum, I'll need you to go up to the communications room and send a coded message and then wait for the reply. If all goes well, while you're gone we'll let the Intersect look at a few more pictures."

Anger boiled up in Carina. "His name is Chuck, Chuck Bartowski. If you continue calling him the Intersect and considering him a tool that you can use, you're no better than Beckman. She considered him to be a piece of government technology that she could use as she saw fit. He's a person."

"Carina's right. We have to see him as a person. He died for his country, only for Beckman to turn him into something he wasn't." Casey smiled down at Carina and wondered if he would've had the guts to say what she did if she hadn't said it first.

Adams looked at the two agents and saw the conviction in their eyes. They'd been on the front line and it made him remember what it was like. They believed deeply in what they said. "You're right. The situation is critical to the future of the United States but if we don't protect the people we've been sworn to protect, then we're no better than Fulcrum."

"Major Casey, check on the condition of 'Mr. Bartowski'." He received a nod from both agents. "We need his help."

Casey carried the laptop over to Chuck. Devon was speaking to him but finished his conversation with Chuck when he saw Casey approach. "Trust your instincts. She loves you, remember that."

"Bartowski?" Casey boomed, hoping the gruff words would get his mind back on the mission. It had worked before.

Chuck looked up and Casey saw the hurt and betrayal in his eyes. "Devon, can you give us a few minutes. I need Chuck's help with something."

"I'll go check on Ellie and Sarah. Maybe make some coffee."

"Chuck, I need you to focus. The director wants you to look at a photo and tell him what you can"

Chuck looked at Casey. He now knew everything there was to know about him. Closing his eyes for a second, Chuck tried to prepare himself for the pain he knew would come.

Casey turned the laptop toward Chuck and then watched as Chuck's eyelids began to flutter before opening to stare a hole through Casey. "Bill Granger, head of the United States Secret Service, exemplary service record. No ties to any other organizations…"

Chuck began to list the entire file but Casey stopped him by slapping him on the back of the head. "Enough."

Chuck looked up through pain filled eyes. "When will anything be enough?"

"That's up to you, Chuck. Right now we need that big old brain of yours."

Casey looked down at Chuck and grunted. "Not the welcome back from death you expected, is it? Maybe it'll get better."

Seeing he was going to get no reply from Chuck, who just stared down at the floor, Casey walked back to where he'd left Carina and Adams. "Bartowski says Granger can be trusted."

"Major, take this message up to the communications room and wait for a reply. The message and the reply are coded. I'm sure I don't have to tell you to discuss this with no one."

Casey growled at the thought that he had to be warned about discretion and security. As an afterthought he turned to Carina. "Maybe you should go talk to Chuck. Something happened and I don't think he wants to talk to me about it."

Xxx

"Sarah, you have to go back and face Chuck. It'll only get worse the longer you leave it."

"I can't. You saw the way he looked at me. I never want to see him look at me like that again. He hates me for what I've done," Sarah cried.

"He could never hate you, Sarah. I'm sure he was just shocked." Ellie tried to console the sobbing agent.

"You don't understand, Ellie, I've been an agent for over ten years and I've done things that I'm ashamed of. I never wanted Chuck to know that part of me. I wanted Chuck to only know me as Sarah Walker, the woman who loved him."

Ellie pulled back and slapped Sarah. "Listen to what you're saying. You want Chuck to love you but you don't trust him enough to love the real you. You're a hypocrite. If that's the way you feel, then you don't deserve someone as wonderful as Chuck."

Sarah began to cry again, long shoulder wracking sobs. She looked up at Ellie, and used the heel of her hand to wipe the tears that had started to pool in her eyes. "You're right Ellie; I'm not good enough for Chuck. He deserves so much better than me. He deserves someone who's never lied to him to protect herself. I'm afraid he won't love the real me."

Ellie looked down at Sarah and scoffed. "You really believe that? This is the man who came back from the dead for you. The man who dreamed of you every night even after that bitch Beckman wiped his brain. The man who calls you his Angel; you just have to talk to him."

Sarah looked up and quietly responded. "Okay, I'll talk to him, I'll try to explain."

"Don't just talk to him, Sarah. You have to trust him. It might not be easy but nothing worth having is easy and if it's worth having, it's worth fighting for."

Xxx

Carina wobbled over to Chuck and plopped next to him on the sofa. "Want to talk?"

Chuck continued his examination of the carpet; by studying the intricate design he somehow kept his mind off things that made his head and heart hurt.

"I said…"

"I heard you Carina." Chuck looked up and she looked into his pain filled eyes.

"We all have skeletons in our closets, Chuck. Some more than others but we all have them."

"You don't understand, Carina. I saw…"

Carina put a comforting arm around Chuck and pulled his head to her shoulder. "Chuck, no one is perfect. We all have flaws and have done things we wish we'd never done."

Chuck quickly looked at Carina. "Even you, Carina?"

"Even me Chuck. What did you see?"

"I saw my Angel's file, I saw things that shocked and disturbed me but mostly I saw how she was assigned to seduce me. She was to make me believe she loved me so she could control me. It was never real, Carina. It was only because she had orders and it's still that way. Everyone on this plane wants to use me in one way or another. They want me to do their flashing and report what I see. When you're done I'll be dead again. Won't I? Maybe that won't be so bad."

Chuck had run out of steam and sat silent as Carina hugged him. "You were never a job for Sarah. I saw it the first time I saw you two together. You had a different face back then though," Carina laughed. "I saw the way Sarah looked at you, that's part of the reason I got you to come to my hotel room that night. That and I wanted to see if it still made Casey crazy."

"How will I know if it's real or still her job?"

"Talk to her Chuck, but don't just talk, listen closely. After she thought you were dead she was a mess. Ask Casey or Ellie; don't just take my word for that. If it was a job she would've just moved onto her next assignment. She wouldn't have mourned you like that if she didn't love you, Chuck. Think about it."

Xxx

Director Adams had gone to the work room to prepare a slideshow for Chuck. He only needed the coded reply from Granger and the accompanying photos he would have Chuck look at. Then he could begin his plan of attack and have a safe place to land.

Xxx

Devon had stood outside the galley pacing back and forth. He didn't want to interrupt what was going on between Ellie and Sarah. When he saw the two women coming out holding each other, he began to walk toward them and announced in a loud voice that he was going to make some coffee.

Ellie and Sarah looked at each other and laughed before they both spoke at the same time. "He's definitely not a spy."

Devon looked chagrined but when Ellie smiled at him his face exploded into a grin. "Awesome."

When they reached the door to the conference room, Ellie released Sarah and gave her a shove toward Chuck. "Go get him Sarah."

Carina noticed their entrance and stood before looking down at Chuck. "Remember what we talked about Chuck?"

Sarah smiled tentatively at Chuck as he sat on the sofa and returned the look. Both were worried how they would be received by the other. Sarah chewed on her bottom lip and then took a few more steps before stopping again and looking into Chuck's eyes. Chuck stood and stared a moment longer before he held out his arms; Sarah ran the last ten feet and launched herself into his arms. Sarah bowled Chuck over onto the soft sofa and before he had a chance to say a word her lips found his and she kissed him deeply, the way he'd kissed her when he'd first woken and called her his Angel.

Xxx

Casey heard exuberant voices coming from the galley as he was on his way with the message for Adams, and he stuck his head inside. He saw Carina, Devon and Ellie in an excited conversation. All he really caught was 'about time' and 'they were meant for each other'.

All three looked up when Casey poked his head inside. "Want some coffee Casey?" Ellie almost screamed in glee.

"Thanks, but I have to get this to Adams," Casey said with a questioning look. "What's going on?"

"The director is in the work room, just down the hall. The conference room is off limits for now."

Casey was suddenly tense. Had Kelly gotten loose and was holed up in there?

Carina saw the look on Casey's face and quickly explained. "They're at it again. You don't want to go in there. In fact, you might want to put your fingers in your ears when you walk by. They're kind of loud," Carina laughed.

"The prisoner is in there, we need to…"

"Don't worry, I dragged him out of there before he or I could be scarred for life. He's in the storage cabinet behind me," Devon smirked. "Under lock and key."

"Damn, I'm going to have nightmares now," Casey grunted.

"Nightmares, Agent Casey. There are a lot of empty rooms on this plane. I expect to see you as soon as you're done with the director," Carina smiled devilishly. "Don't keep me waiting. There are a lot of attractive men on this plane."

Casey gulped and promised to be back as quickly as he could.

Xxx

Casey stood at attention after delivering the coded message and the accompanying drive. Adams looked at the message first and then nodded for Casey to take a seat. "As soon as we ascertain the pilots aren't Fulcrum, we'll be landing at a different location. From there, once we're sure none of the agents are Fulcrum, we'll be escorted to a safe house and we'll be reporting directly to the President. I have a few things to do that are 'eyes only' but I expect you back in fifteen minutes."

"Not much time but I think I can make do," Casey smiled before rushing back to the galley.

"Carina, we've got fifteen minutes. Move your lovely ass."

Carina jumped up and followed Casey down the corridor. She was thankful for the shot of Demerol Ellie had given her. She didn't plan on feeling any pain for the next fifteen minutes.

Xxx

A/N: Hope you enjoy. If not let me know how I can get better.

Thanks to all the readers who left reviews and all who put alerts on this story, I hope you like this chapter too. I love you, not as much as I love Sarah but close, actually not even close but thanks.

Please leave a review, judging by my so-so fast update it does help.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I don't own Chuck or anyone else in the Chuck world. **

I'm sorry for taking so long to get this chapter out there; I hope I still have some readers out there who haven't **'Forgotten' **this story. I know, a lame pun but I couldn't resist. Ha-Ha

My incredible beta jagged1 has again helped so much. She didn't have much to work with on the first draft but after all her ideas and thoughts I hope it's worth the read. I used almost every suggestion she made so if you don't like any part. It's probably the part where I didn't take her advice.

A big thank you to Tynianrex who sent me a couple PM's hounding me (lol) about when I was going to post this chapter and a few suggestions for wrapping up this story.

Xxx

Chapter 17

Xxx

"Casey, if you walk out that door, you're a dead man."

"Carina, we still have a job to do. I'll be back."

Carina let out a scoff. "You owe me, Casey. Next time, I'll use the cuffs so you can't get away."

Casey grinned. "Maybe I'll use the cuffs on you."

Carina smiled. "Promises, promises."

Casey, being a military man, was true to his word. Fifteen minutes later he was standing in front of Adams, ready for his orders.

"Major Casey, I've received pictures that are now ready for the Inter…" Adams looked up before correcting himself. "Mr. Bartowski to look at. I don't know how up-to-date his information is with what Beckman did to him but he is our best bet. There are pictures of the pilots and the people that will meet us when we land."

"Who will be meeting us?" Casey questioned cautiously.

"All I know is my contact has been authorized by the President to draft anyone we need from any branch of the military and any government agency as he sees fit. I have the pictures ready for Mr. Bartowski to look at."

Casey cringed. "I…I'll go see if he's ready." Casey was already dreading the thought.

Xxx

Sarah's heartbeat was finally slowing down; she was nestled against Chuck. She didn't want to move, they fit perfectly together like a puzzle that had only two pieces. It completed the picture she wanted for her future. She'd never felt the need for anyone to make her safe. Since she could remember, running cons with her father and then with the CIA, she was self-sufficient. She didn't need anyone to depend on, the job was always enough. Now it seemed she needed Chuck so much that it hurt.

"I didn't want you to see my file…"

Chuck put his finger to Sarah's lips to quiet her. "I don't really know where it came from but I seem to remember promising you that I would never access your file. I somehow stopped the cascade of images before I saw them. It was only when I saw Casey's file that there was a notation about your mission concerning me. That was what I saw."

Casey listened at the door, hoping he wouldn't regret it. Hearing nothing, he pounded on the door, yelling. "Are you two decent? The director has a job for us."

Sarah pulled Chuck's finger away from her lips and raised her voice. "Give us five minutes, Casey."

"Five minutes?" he scoffed, "Is that all you need, Bartowski?" He was serious again. "Not a second more. Be ready, I really don't want to have to drag you out of there in your skivvies."

"Go to hell, Casey. Five minutes."

Sarah ignored the snort she heard through the door. Turning back to Chuck, this time she put her finger to his lips. "Let me talk, Chuck. I need to tell you. I was originally assigned to seduce you, gain your trust anyway I could."

Even with Sarah's finger on his mouth, he was still able to speak. "You don't have to tell me this."

"I need to tell you this Chuck, I was supposed to find out what you knew and then my assignment would've been over. When you flashed and defused the bomb and saved the General, they decided you needed full time protection. They wanted me to sleep with you and gain your trust, move in with you and use sex to control you."

Chuck grunted. "I don't…"

"I couldn't do it, you were always a gentleman and I liked you. As time progressed, I started to really care about you, more than I should. Then, I started to fall in love with you; it happened so slowly. One night we were out for a cover date and I looked over at you and I noticed I love your smile. Then before I could stop myself I recognized that I loved you."

Chuck was still trying to voice his comments; Sarah's finger was still pressed to his lips. His smile was as wide as he'd ever felt it go. He wondered if his face could break from extreme happiness. He started to speak again, but she pressed her finger harder and shushed him. He pressed a kiss to her finger.

"I don't know how it happened really. I've always been so closed off, never caring about anything. I knew then I was in too deep, I couldn't betray you.

Chuck pulled Sarah's finger from his lips. "I…"

Sarah kissed him to keep him quiet, She pulled back looking at his glazed eyes. She put her finger on his lips once more. "Let me finish Chuck, I wanted us to be real and I didn't want it to be a part of the mission. I wanted you for real. Bryce kept coming back, every time just when we were getting closer. Then Jill came back and you broke up with me, it broke my heart. Except for those moments at the fountain, that kept me going after I thought you were dead. I'd finally told you the truth."

Chuck kissed Sarah's finger one more time before she had a chance to remove it from his lips.

Chuck looked at Sarah and when she nodded he began to speak. "All I really know about my Angel is that I love you. I love you more than life itself, I don't remember much about my former life but I remember a love so strong that I couldn't let myself die. When I felt myself slipping away I always saw you. You kept me from insanity. I would see your tears and didn't want to cause you to cry."

Sarah burrowed deeper into Chuck's shoulder and cried. His arms around her felt so good, she'd never felt so safe. He loved her and it wasn't just because she was beautiful on the outside. He loved the woman on the inside.

A shout from the door shocked them both. "Time's up, we have work to do. You have one minute to get dressed, then I'm coming in with a blindfold and a tranq pistol."

Xxx

Bryce sat comfortably in one of the lounge chairs. In his opinion he'd spent entirely too much time sitting with the Secret Service Agents. They should've just let him lock the door and leave them there. Casey had stuck his head inside and told him he was needed. His input might be needed and decisions needed to be made.

Chuck sat in the chair next to Sarah at the conference table, she was holding his hand but it still didn't help the pain he felt with each flash. He wished the slideshow would end. With each subsequent flash, the pain that had started as a dull throb had escalated to an intense migraine. The pain seemed to permeate his being and made his whole body ache. His eyes had begun to water after the fifth picture, and even though the pictures showed no Fulcrum affiliations, his eyes still hurt like a red hot poker was being shoved into them.

Ultimately, the pilots and communications technician were cleared by Chuck. The rest of the files Chuck worked his way through were the people that would meet the plane and become the team to protect them until Fulcrum could be brought down. The final tally was eleven loyal agents and black op types. The final picture make Chuck growl deeply. "Peter Finley joined Fulcrum immediately out of the Farm, now a deputy regional commander for them in the DC area."

Chuck's eyes were glazed over while reciting facts about the traitor. After the first eleven had passed with no affiliations to Fulcrum, everyone began to wonder if the information in Chuck's head was up to date. Finding Kelly might've been a fluke.

Finally Casey growled, "Enough, moron." He augmented his words with a slap to the back of Chuck's head. Even though he had called Chuck a moron, it lacked the usual inflection of disdain.

While Chuck was being mothered by Sarah and Ellie, the others discussed how best to deal with Finley: risk allowing him to accompany the rest of the team to the plane before taking him down or have him picked up for questioning immediately.

Adams had the final word. "Agent Larkin, after we land, I want you to take two agents to DC and pick up Finley. By the time you have him in custody, I'll have a safe house you can take him to and question him. I want to know what he knows."

Bryce smirked in Casey's direction. "Sorry big guy. This one's mine."

Casey was sent back to the communications room to send another coded message and await the reply. Devon, with the help of Ellie and Sarah, took Chuck back to the conference room. Since the last flash, Chuck hadn't said a word; it hurt too much. He just held onto his Angel's hand, needing her reassuring words and gentle squeeze that told him she was there for him. When he did open his eyes, they all could see the pain that was there and the disorientation from the ordeal.

Xxx

Chuck woke from the drug induced sleep to find a warm and very welcome body pressed against him. All he could see was a mass of blonde hair and the feel of hot breath on his chest. He listened to the sound of his Angel snoring lightly and it made him smile. His head still hurt but when he thought of her it all seemed to slip away. Nothing else mattered besides keeping her safe.

Chuck sighed with contentment as his arms wrapped around Sarah to pull her closer. The agent in her quickly snapped awake to assess any danger but there was only Chuck and he was holding her tight.

"Chuck, how do you feel?" Sarah asked worriedly, looking up into his eyes "As long as you're in my arms, I'll be fine." Chuck smiled down at Sarah before kissing her forehead.

"We have to get up, but I never want to let you go." Chuck had heard the announcement that the plane would be landing shortly.

"Chuck, I want a hundred years of this and a hundred years of the other thing too," Sarah smiled seductively.

"I can promise the first but if you don't let me get some sleep occasionally, I can't promise the second," Chuck replied with his crooked smile.

"Sleep is overrated. Live with it," Sarah smirked. "Would you prefer sleep to me?"

"I'll take you before anything," and the arm wrapped around her squeezing he tightly. "But, we better get up before Casey barges in here."

Sarah snuggled closer and huffed before dejectedly pulling herself away from Chuck to get dressed.

When Chuck and Sarah walked into the galley to get a cup of coffee, the first thing Sarah noticed was the look of disarray of the two couples sitting there. She snorted in laughter when she noticed that Devon's shirt was on inside out and the blush that seemed to make Ellie's cheeks red when she mentioned it.

"No time, Walker, we're on final approach and we'll be landing in five minutes. Besides, this is Bartowski. You should've had plenty of time for coffee." Casey smirked.

Sarah grimaced at the thought of no coffee but sat in a chair pulling Chuck down beside her.

Chuck ground his teeth. "Bite me, Casey."

Sarah ignored them. "What's the plan? Do they have a safe house for us yet?" she asked.

"Relax, Walker, things are falling into place. There's a team waiting for us as soon as we land," Casey replied with a growl of contentment._ I won't take 'I don't know' for an answer this time._

Carina looked at Casey and quipped, "Down Casey. You know we want him alive after you question him?"

Devon and Ellie looked on, wondering if all this was real or they'd stepped into 'The Twilight Zone'. Casey and Carina were joking about questioning and possibly torturing someone. Ellie shuddered at the thought.

The landing was almost anticlimactic; the wheels touched down and the engines reversed thrust to aid in braking. The whine of the engines was hardly noticeable but the vibration was something that couldn't be avoided no matter how much the passengers were shielded.

Casey was up and ready for action when he felt the motion of the plane stop. Director Adams entered the room. "Two minutes agents. I don't want to give Fulcrum a chance to locate us. Once at the bunker the President has provided…"

Sarah's gun was in her hand and aimed at Adams before he had even finished his sentence. "You're not putting Chuck in a bunker."

Adams stared at the gun aimed at his face for a second. "Agent Walker, relax. No one is being put in a bunker. The President had given us access to a secret underground facility, 'code name Alabaster' where we can plan our strategy once we see what's on the flash drive. We need a safe base of operations."

Sarah relaxed her grip on her gun but didn't put it away. She wanted to be sure of Adams intentions before giving up her leverage. She looked at Chuck whose eye lids were fluttering. "Chuck?" she whispered.

Ellie was shocked to see Sarah pull a gun and point it with what seemed every intention to use it if necessary, although she knew she was doing this to protect Chuck.

"Built in the eighties. Reagan commissioned ten around the US during his attempts to develop his Star Wars Program."

Casey smirked; his idol and hero was again their savior. "If President Reagan set it up, we can trust it to be top notch."

Every eye in the room looked at Casey in mild amusement but it was Carina who voiced the opinion of everyone. "Casey, that's the kind of thing you should think but not say."

The tension in the room was broken and there were even a few chuckles heard.

"Agent Larkin, thank the three Secret Service Agents and have them and the pilots remain where they are until we're on the way. They're a link to us and I don't want them to see how we leave or our transportation. I also don't want them to see us take Kelly… Where the hell is Kelly?" Adams demanded looking around, concerned.

"He's in the cupboard over there," Devon pointed. "We took turns watching him and checking to make sure he was still sedated."

Adams looked at Devon closely. "Young man, why is your shirt on inside out?"

Devon looked over at Ellie and they both blushed but neither could utter a word in defense.

"I, uh, uh…" Devon started.

"Unless it pertains to what is going on I don't care. Agent Walker, as soon as Major Casey gets back I'll alert our reinforcements. The transportation will be here soon after. We need to make a speedy exit."

Casey re-entered the room and nodded. "Ready to go? The Suburbans just pulled up. Ellie, can you help Carina? Walker can handle Chuck." Casey grunted sarcastically when he realized how true that was. He turned to Devon. "I'll need a hand after they're gone."

Bryce clapped Chuck on the shoulder before he left. "Good-bye my friend, take good care of yourself and Sarah. Take care of each other." Bryce smirked looking at both of them. "I expect an invite to the wedding."

When he and Devon were the only ones left in the room, Casey moved to the cupboard and pulled Kelly out.

Devon gulped. "You're not going to kill him are you?"

Casey growled at the thought before the marine in him came to the forefront. "No. I want to but we need information from him. We're going to strip him and put him in this." Casey said pointing to a pair of coveralls he's found earlier. We can't take a chance that there is a tracking device sewn somewhere in his clothes."

Devon let out a breath of relief.

"Come on, college boy, give me a hand here. We have one minute to get this done."

Once everyone was safely away from the plane, Bryce thanked the crew for their help and exited the plane. It was only a short jog to the far end of the runway where the last suburban was waiting for him.

"Let's go. I'm in a hurry."

Bryce smirked. With luck he'd have Finley in custody and a confession before Casey even had a chance to start.

Xxx

Sarah didn't recognize the airport where they'd landed because the plane had taxied to a hanger far away from the bustle of the actual airport. As they left the airport and turned onto an expressway she saw signs for Baltimore. So, what would they find in Maryland? She wondered. The director hadn't told them where they were going for security reasons and Chuck had stopped talking before they found out the exact location.

Chuck and Sarah sat in the back of one of the Suburbans with two agents of the new team in the front. Devon and Ellie were in the one immediately behind them while Casey, Carina and the director were in the one far in front. The remainder of the team and the prisoners were in a black van directly ahead of them. Sarah thought they were driving considerably slow when the fate of the nation might be at risk, but the agent side of her approved of their moderate speed so as not to attract undue attention. She heard the radio crackle announcing that the final vehicle in their caravan had caught up to them.

Holding Chuck's hand, Sarah again looked at him, noting the discomfort on his face. She gave his hand a squeeze. He used to have the adorable habit of rambling whenever he felt uncomfortable. Unfortunately, that was the old Chuck, the Chuck she wanted back. The new Chuck just stared intensely, never saying anything that wasn't directly needed. She was going to have to talk to Ellie about it.

"Are you okay, Chuck?" Sarah whispered.

Chuck looked at Sarah and tried to smile. "I don't know; too much is happening too fast."

"Chuck, trust me. I'll never let anyone hurt you again."

This time, Chuck did smile. His Angel was with him. He did trust her and he loved her. Her blue eyes were his lifeline. "I do trust you."

Sarah smiled back.

Sarah looked out the window as the vehicle slowed. They'd exited the beltway a while ago and continued on surface streets. The tract houses had started to disappear and she'd seen farms start to appear. They finally pulled up to a barn with two grain silos standing tall beside it. One of the agents in the first Suburban got out and after inserting a key, a panel slid open and he then tapped on a keyboard. He stepped back waiting for the door to open. The interior was dark but the headlights from the caravan revealed a cavernous space. Once all the vehicles were inside, the door was closed and lights came on automatically.

Sarah had been in barns a few times in her life. Usually it was just her and her father hiding in a hayloft after a con gone bad until the heat was off. Just looking around she knew right away this wasn't any ordinary barn. The floor didn't have the usual mess of hay on the floor or dust particles floating around by the slightest movement. Director Adams jumped out and moved to the wall. The same agent who had opened the barn handed a different key to Adams and motioned to the innocuous metal plate on the wall with only a small slot for a key.

Adams quickly looked at the key before inserting it in the opening. It was over three inches long and had several embedded resistors along its length just like an ignition key. The agent had moved away after Adams inserted the key. The plate dropped down and Adams entered the secure codes. Once the door was closed, he only had one minute to disable the security. Thirty seconds later a flashing green light and brief beep alerted everyone that he was successful. Nobody ever knew that if he'd failed the barn would've gone into lockdown and a derivative of nerve gas would be released and everyone would be unconscious in ten seconds and dead in ten more.

The whole wall on the left slid up revealing more than a dozen monitors that lit up when the panel stopped moving. They showed many different shots of the exterior of the barn and shots of the road they'd used to get there.

Casey moved up beside Adams to begin studying them. They had to be sure no one had followed them and the area around the barn was secure.

Chuck stood open mouthed after Sarah helped him out of the Suburban. Beneath the monitors were the computers controlling the barn and its security system. The racks of servers probably had the latest and most advanced processors. He wished he had time to look at them more closely.

Determining that they hadn't been followed, Adams pointed to the steel reinforced door in the corner that was set in concrete and seemed impenetrable. He again typed on the keyboard and the door slowly opened revealing a flight of stairs that led down.

"Thirty seconds until security is restored; move it people," Adams urged. Another keystroke and all the panels slid back into place and the barn was again dark except for a few well-placed emergency lights.

The stairs seemed to go on forever until finally they saw a passageway that led to who knew what. The passageway ended in front of a sliding door. Adams again keyed in a code and the door opened to reveal a large freight elevator. Once everyone was in, he pressed the only button on the panel. The word 'safe' flashed in red and after a minute or more it changed to green.

The door opened and they saw a long hallway with doors on each side. Moving out of the elevator, they noticed each door had a name plate on it denoting its function. First on the right was Infirmary, the first two on the left were restrooms. From Sarah's vantage point she couldn't see what the doors further down the hall were labeled, but she didn't care, nor did anyone else. It had been a long ride from the airport.

Sarah's head snapped to look back at the elevator door when she heard the clacking of the lock set in place and the brief, shrill alarm setting the bunker in secure mode.

Adams turned to the agents escorting the prisoner. "There has to be cells somewhere along here. Lock him up and meet us back here."

Chuck was leaning heavily against Sarah by now. After his excitement at the barn, he'd begun to flag. Every step they took, Chuck seemed to lean on her more. She looked around, but Ellie and Carina had already headed to the washroom. Devon noticed her discomfort and walked over and grabbed Chuck. "Go, Sarah. I've got him."

Sarah looked at him. "Are you sure?"

Devon looked at Sarah with wide eyes. "I'm a doctor and he's almost my bro-in-law. We'll handle it."

Chuck coughed and blushed, "I can hear you, you know. I think I can handle it myself."

Sarah laughed over her shoulder. "Can you help him too, Casey?" That earned her a death glare but she ignored it rushing to use the facilities herself.

Sarah waited outside the door for Chuck and Devon to exit. A knock on the door alerted her that they were still inside. She was still worried it was a vivid and wonderful dream. She'd had so many in the time after she thought he'd died. Waking each morning alone, the only way she could hold onto reality was when she was with Chuck. Holding his hand and looking into his eyes. The few minutes she'd been apart from him brought back the terrible nightmares.

Sarah rushed at Chuck as soon as the door opened. Devon was almost bowled over by the Walker tackle that pinned Chuck to the wall. Her lips pressed to Chuck.

"I think I'll… I don't know where I'm going but I… I'll find my way to the others." Devon mumbled shuffling down the hall.

Sarah felt Chuck respond to her actions before he pulled back and asked. "Do we have time for this?" The smile on his face was effervescent.

Sarah looked at his face and smiled. "Damn you, Chuck, I need you."

Chuck looked into the sapphire eyes and smiled. "I want to finish this later."

When Sarah and Chuck finally arrived at the conference room, all eyes looked in their direction. The flash drive was sitting on the table and connected to the USB port of a computer but they couldn't access the data because they didn't have the password. The login screen stated that after two attempts the drive would wipe itself if the login was incorrect.

Many suggestions had been made about what the login might be until they decided to try Fulcrum but it hadn't worked. Another incorrect login would mean the destruction of the information they need on the flash drive.

Sarah settled Chuck into a chair and looked deeply into his eyes. Her electric blue eyes seemed to give him energy and the dull brown eyes melted to the point that she wanted to fall into them. There was nothing she wanted more than to wrap herself around Chuck and never let go.

Chuck uttered one word. "Angel."

Once the code was input a list of names began to flash across the screen.

Casey grunted at the ones he recognized. Carina watched the list scrolling by. Her reaction was less intense.

Finally the list ground to a halt and Adams asked if they could get a print-out of it to examine in more detail. Casey nodded and stepped in front of the computer. He pulled up the command window and sent the list to the laser printer in the corner.

He requested five copies. The printer started spitting out the once pristine sheets of white paper that were now filled with the names of traitors.

Casey stood over the printer and swiped one of the print-outs from the tray. From across the room, Sarah could see his blue eyes flash with intensity at the prospect of identifying the Fulcrum operatives.

Casey handed out the copies of the list before taking a seat himself. "Let's find out who's getting a surprise visit from the Grim Casey." A satisfied grunt escaping his lips.

Xxx

A/N: Hope you enjoy. If not let me know how I can get better.

Thanks to all the readers who left reviews and all who put alerts on this story, I hope you like this chapter too. I love you, not as much as I love Sarah but close, actually not even close but thanks.

Please leave a review, I enjoy hearing from you.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I don't own Chuck or anyone else in the Chuck world. **

I sound like a broken record, again I'm sorry for taking so long to update. I kept thinking it sucked and kept deleting and rewriting.

My incredible beta jagged1 is amazing. What can I say that I haven't said before? She does all this because of the big bucks I pay her. lol. Actually I don't know why she does all this but I do appreciate it. Did I say she was AMAZING? I don't think I did but if I did it needs to be repeated. If I'd only listened to her this would've been out sooner. She deserves your thanks. If you don't like any part, it's probably the part where I didn't take her advice.

I need to thank enz8 for his help with the weapons and tactical beta. Again if I got anything wrong it's all my fault.

I also want to thank my friend 'Tynianrex' who gave me a pre-read and offered some ideas that helped me out. He recently posted the first chapter of his first story. You should read it, very interesting and unique. He said the next chapter will be up Monday, I can't wait.

Xxx

Chapter 18

Xxx

Sarah looked into Chuck's pain filled eyes and gently pulled the printout from his shaking hands. "Chuck, you don't have to do this. We have a state of the art computer network down here almost as good as you." She smirked for a second. "But it can't make my toes curl when it kisses me."

Chuck squinted through the pain. "You've been kissing a computer that wasn't me?" He tried to laugh but it was just too hard. The flashing had started at the first name on the list and hadn't stopped until the sheets of paper had been pulled from his nerveless hands. Still the urge to vomit and pass out at the same time overcame him until his head fell back onto the chair.

Devon and Ellie were the only others in the room watching the exchange between Chuck and Sarah. Adams and Carina were discussing the merits of what Casey might find in his meaningful questioning of Kelly.

"Devon, Ellie can you help me? There has to be an infirmary around here somewhere. I think Chuck needs to lie down."

Before the sentence had fully carried across the table, Ellie was up and beside her brother. She started to help Sarah pull the mostly listless Chuck up from his chair. Devon was right behind her, helping.

"Sarah, do you know where the infirmary is?" Devon asked.

"No, I didn't see it when we came down the hall."

"I've got Chuck. Go find it and we'll meet you there." Devon waved toward the door and hallway beyond.

Sarah looked toward the nearly incapacitated Chuck before rushing out the door. She was in search of the magical room, it had to be there; the one that would contain medicine to alleviate the pain Chuck was feeling.

Ellie looked on, as Devon was more or less carrying Chuck out of the room. She wished they'd let her keep the sedatives from the plane. They'd brought enough to keep Kelly unconscious but the director was adamant. She'd had to turn them over to the other agents.

Sarah ran back up the hall just as Ellie was closing the door behind them. "It's the third door on the left." She was breathing hard, not because of the exertion. She was in excellent physical condition; it was more anxiety about Chuck's condition.

"I got him, Sarah," Devon said when Sarah went to help him carry Chuck down the hall. "Grab the door, please?"

Sarah stood feeling helpless as Devon and Ellie hooked Chuck up to machines that she had no idea of their function. It only got worse as she looked at Chuck from the foot of the bed while they injected something into an IV they'd set up.

Chuck was restless, constantly moving. Sarah could feel with every fiber of her being that he needed her. Ever since their time in the basement of the house in California when she'd finally let go and Chuck had made love to her, she'd felt an almost telepathic connection. He was calling to her with his mind. Moving to his side and pulling his hand into hers, he settled down. The current of electricity they both felt was completing its circuit.

They both began to feel calmer. Chuck stopped his thrashing and the thudding in Sarah's chest slowed to a normal heartbeat. She needed Chuck like oxygen and he needed her in the same way; they needed each other.

Ellie noticed the abatement of Chuck's turmoil and the reason for it, and moved away, allowing Sarah to move closer to Chuck. Just Sarah holding his hand seemed to calm Chuck.

"Sarah, if you want we can…" Ellie glanced quickly at Devon before blushing.

"It's okay, Ellie," Sarah smirked. "We're not going to get hot and heavy in front of you."

"You mean again, right. Are you sure?" Devon piped up with a laugh.

"Positive. Chuck needed to know I'm still here for him and that I'll never leave him."

"You two are going to make beautiful babies," Ellie gushed looking at the love Chuck and Sarah seemed to emanate.

Xxx

General Beckman walked with her usual clipped pace deep, in thought. The call from the director of the NSC shouldn't have bothered her. He'd all but passed blessing on the way she handled the Bartowski operation. Still, the thought lingered. His secretary had called her personally to advise her of the meeting. She'd wanted to check with her secretary to see if there was something on her calendar that she missed. After several calls on the intercom with no answer, she walked out to find the outer office empty.

Someone should've been out there; that might explain why she was contacted directly. She wasn't used to talking to the _hired help._ She felt they were beneath her in many ways.

Reaching the office, Beckman prepared to breeze into the inner office but she was stopped by a call from the secretary. "General Beckman, Director Thomas asked that you wait here until he's ready for you."

Unfortunately, the young woman behind the desk took the brunt of Beckman's anger. "I don't wait outside anyone's office. I was called to a meeting and I'll be damned if I sit out here," Beckman growled as she stormed up to the office door and pushed it open, letting herself in.

"Yes, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. President." Beckman heard the last words of Thomas's conversation before the screen blanked out.

Thomas turned to look at Beckman and she almost shrank back at the loathing she saw on the Directors face.

"Sit down General; I hope you don't have plans for tonight?" Thomas said motioning to a chair.

"What is the meaning of this? I get called here and your _help_ tells me I need to wait?"

"You didn't tell me the whole story on the Bartowski situation. You left out some very important details like how you had one of your quacks wipe his brain. You let his family think he was dead. My god Diane, you broke almost every oath you ever took to protect the people of this country. Bartowski is a civilian, which makes it even worse. As far as I can determine, he never asked for any of this."

Beckman was stunned. She thought Thomas would be on her side. She'd given him a slightly sanitized and edited version of what happened. How had he found out the truth? Had her secretary somehow passed sensitive information on to him? Was that why she was gone from her office when she went to look for her?

"Your secretary has been taken into custody. She was a Fulcrum traitor. That's two in your immediate office. What are you doing over there at the NSA?"

The look of shock was evident on Beckman's face.

Thomas shook his head with a look of disgust. He pressed a button on his desk and the door opened to reveal four tall men dressed in dark suits. "The President wants to talk to you, but we need to clean up this mess you made first. You will be a guest of the NSC for a few hours." With a nod of his head, two of the four men advanced and invited Beckman to come with them.

Xxx

Casey returned to the room just in time. He could tell Carina was getting pissed about something and was in danger of insubordination.

"Director," Casey started, trying to deflect the conflict going on. "Kelly told me some very interesting information. It seems he and a couple of his friends within the Secret Service were to be security for a high echelon meeting tonight with all five Elders and several of the senior members of Fulcrum in attendance."

"It took a little persuading." Casey smirked while brandishing his bruised knuckles. "But I got the address. Seems they're in the final stages of a coup against the NSA and CIA. We need to be there to take them down; once the leadership falls the rest will be clean up."

"Excellent work, Major Casey. Are you sure we can we trust this information?" Adams asked.

Casey growled. "I don't think he had it in him at the end to lie to me. I made it clear to him what would happen if he did."

"Major, will we be able to bring them in, now, with the agents we have at our disposal? I'll contact Agent Larkin and the agents with him once they've finished their arrest. That gives you ten plus you and Larkin. Is that enough?"

"What about me?" Carina asked with fire in her eyes.

Casey grunted. "If we did this my way, I could do it myself." He ignored Carina's comment.

"Casey, don't you dare ignore me. I've been in this from the beginning and I'm going to be helping to end this." The glare in her eyes could melt glass.

"Agent Hansen, I don't believe you've recovered enough to help here. It would be best if you stayed here to help me co-ordinate the take down."

Casey looked at Carina and cringed. "We'll need a spotter but you'll have to stay in the van." His eyes flashed the mirth that comment seemed to elicit.

Adams looked to Casey. "Your call ,Major, I don't think Mr. Bartowski is in any condition to go with you and even if I ordered her I doubt Agent Walker would leave his side. But, we'll need video so he can watch the take down."

"With Carina that makes thirteen, definitely doable. I'm sure most of the equipment we might need is on site and anything else you can get for us anonymously once we're topside."

"Major Casey, Agent Hansen, I'll expect a detailed plan within the hour. I have to contact the President and advise him of our actions."

Once Adams moved out of earshot, Carina looked up at Casey through her long eyelashes. "You don't really expect me to stay in the van do you?"

Casey leaned down and whispered in her ear…

The smile on her face widened and she quickly nodded her acceptance. "I'll take that as a promise."

With Carina operating the computer and Casey offering suggestions on possible scenarios, they had a plan ready for the director to look at within thirty minutes. It still needed a few final touches but for that, they would need the Intersect.

Since General Beckman's executive assistant was also Fulcrum, the director had ordered Bryce and his team to take her into custody somewhere before anything could leak about the attack.

Casey was silently seething. He'd gotten to question Kelly but Larkin had already taken down one Fulcrum traitor and was about to take down another. He planned for himself to be the first through the door of the Fulcrum summit. Then, and only then, would the scales balance back in his favor, and with his back turned a secret smile graced his face.

Xxx

Sarah sat on the side of Chuck's bed holding his hand, willing him to look at her. Whatever Devon and Ellie had injected into his IV had the desired effect. It let him lightly sleep but it was not fitful; his eyes were moving rapidly beneath his eyelids signifying he was in a state of REM sleep.

The occasional waking and troubled eyes she handled by stroking the uninjured side of his face and whispering in his ear until he closed his eyes again.

"Ellie, can't you give him something stronger? I don't like seeing him in pain," Sarah asked with her eyes anguished.

"Your director made sure that I couldn't and this infirmary is definitely deficient. I sent Devon out to see if he could find something a little stronger. I don't like Chuck going through this, either." She looked at Chuck with worry creasing her forehead.

Casey walked through the door and looked at Chuck. "How is he?"

"Not good. He's having terrible dreams," Sarah answered with a glare. "Can you get us something to make him sleep better?"

Casey looked chagrined. "Sarah, we need him. We're going topside to crash a Fulcrum summit. We need Chuck to view the video feeds to make sure we don't miss anything."

Ellie and Sarah were up as one, confronting Casey for the suggestion that Chuck would need to flash for them again.

The murderous look he got from Sarah as she fingered one of her knives and the look of desolation from Ellie almost made him regret his request.

Casey hardened his features. "This is the most important operation against Fulcrum. If we can take down the Elders, the rest will fall. It's a coup de tat; Chuck is the only one who can pinpoint them. We know the Elder's names but because they are so behind the scenes, there are no photographs for us to use. These are the power brokers that want to control the world's Intelligence."

Ellie and Sarah were still not convinced. It was Chuck that was being used again for the greater good and Sarah was getting sick of those two words.

Sarah glanced at Ellie and an unspoken agreement was reached. "John, I want your word as an officer that what you say here is the truth. I know how spies work; they promise and then don't deliver."

"Sarah, I can't promise for the entire Intelligence community but I will honor my word. If I need to, I'll help you go off grid."

"You realize that you just said that with everyone probably listening? They probably told you to say that."

Casey pulled back his shirt to reveal a device somewhat like one Sarah had used once. "Don't worry Walker, mine actually works. Whatever we say here stays here."

"John, I trust you. This is the last time. I don't know what all of this will do to him. He's going through so much right now."

"Trust me, Walker. I made Carina input new identities for all of you." Casey handed an envelope over. "Only she knows the contents of it. I haven't looked. If things go bad, take the elevator topside and disappear. Inside, you'll find the codes to bypass security."

"Is this real, John?" Ellie asked, confused.

"My word as an officer and a gentleman," Casey added.

"Kelly told me he and some friends were to be providing security for a full blown Fulcrum summit tonight. There'll be several senior Fulcrum members in attendance and the whole Council of Elders. We need Chuck's help; there are no pictures of the Elders except in his head. We need him to identify them for us."

"Can't you just arrest everyone and sort it out later?" Ellie asked, exasperated that they were using Chuck again.

"It's not that simple, Ellie. We only know them by their code names. Without positive identification, we'll never know if we got them all."

"Don't you think you should ask me?" Chuck wheezed out.

Chuck had stirred and opened his eyes to slits, a groan escaping his lips. The bright lights in the room forced him to grip Sarah's hand tightly and close his eyes again.

"Chuck, how do you feel?" Sarah asked willing herself to absorb some of the pain Chuck was going through.

"Like someone is poking me in the eyes with a red-hot poker."

Sarah leaned down shading him from most of the glare.

"I have to do this. I need to do this. If I don't, I'll never be free. We'll never be free."

"Chuck, are you sure you're up to it?"

"As long as you're here beside me, I can do anything."

Casey grunted. "We leave in five minutes; we'll need Chuck in the security room to watch the video feeds."

Ellie looked at Chuck and shook her head before speaking. "Chuck, we don't know what all this flashing is doing to your brain. It could cause permanent brain damage. Did any of you ever think about that?"

"Ellie, I…" Chuck started.

"No Chuck, you can't just ignore this. John, you can't force him to do it."

"Ellie, we've explained what Fulcrum wants to do. They need to be stopped. We're the last line of defense."

Sarah had been quiet during the debate between Casey and Ellie, but now she spoke up. "I don't want Chuck to do this. He never asked for any of this. The rest of us took oaths for our chosen profession. No one ever asked Chuck; this was dumped on him." She squeezed Chuck's hand.

"I want to be a hero," Chuck mumbled.

Devon entered the room at that moment and before looking around, announced he'd scored something that would knock Chuck out for a week.

"You can't give him that Devon. We need him awake," Casey growled as he held his hand out for whatever Devon had somehow come into possession of.

Devon backed up a couple of steps, ready to defend Chuck and the drugs he'd obtained. "I'm not giving them to you, John."

"John, you saw what this so-called flashing does to Chuck. You can't ask him to do it anymore."

"Ellie, we need Chuck's help with this. Fulcrum might know that Chuck is the Intersect or find out at some time. He would never be safe. They would torture him for what he could tell them. I'm sorry but this needs to be done."

Ellie looked intently at Casey before relenting. "Devon," Ellie called, "Give them to him. They need Chuck's help."

"Ellie, we all agreed that Chuck needs rest and some tests to make sure he's okay."

"It's what Chuck wants and we'll be here to watch him and make sure it isn't too much."

Devon reluctantly handed the sedatives over to the burly agent but not before wondering if he could take Casey.

Casey turned to Sarah and handed her the drugs. "Watch him. If he really needs them, I'll understand. You know what this means."

Casey left the room and Chuck moved to swing his legs off the bed. Sarah moved back, ready to steady him. His initial steps were tentative and then he stopped and leaned on Sarah for support.

Ellie walked over to them and helped Sarah hold Chuck up. They could both see he was trembling. When the tremors stopped, Chuck stood up to his full height, and with both women's help, he walked down the hall to the control center. Finally reaching a chair, he collapsed into it and looked around at the monitors that had been set up to show Chuck what Casey, Carina and the rest of the team members saw.

The view he saw was of them going up in the elevator and exiting through the barn. Chuck seemed transfixed by all the movement.

"Com check Casey? Cameras operational. Alert us when you get to the location." Sarah stated.

"Affirmative Walker."

"Devon, Ellie why don't you go to the cafeteria and get something to eat. I want Chuck all to myself for a few minutes."

Devon and Ellie looked at Chuck with concern but they could tell by the determined look on Sarah's face that she wanted to be alone with Chuck. They silently moved to the door and then left the room.

"Chuck, look at me," Sarah demanded.

Chuck turned his gaze to Sarah and tried to focus on her and her alone. "I love you, my Angel."

"I love you too, Chuck, and my name is Sarah." Sarah emphasized her statement by placing a soft kiss on his lips.

Chuck's smile grew to the extreme limits of his face and his eyes lit up.

Xxx

Casey, Carina and Bryce sat in the van, going over the schematics for the building while they planned the op. The team had been strategically placed to keep anyone from escaping. Even with her earlier promise to stay in the van and monitor things, Carina still wanted in on the action. She didn't want to sit still when they were so close

"Why don't we just gas the building?" Bryce offered.

Casey adjusted his body armor, tugging the straps tight before looking up. "Like they're going to wait four hours while we set that up, we need to move before any of them escape. Moron." Casey grunted.

"Down boy." Carina laughed, directing her comment toward Casey.

"Carina, we need you to send _what_ and _who_ Chuck flashes on to us," Casey said. "He trusts you."

"Just don't think this is how it's going to stay once this cast is off and remember what you promised me," Carina smirked.

Casey gulped, and as hard as it was, he sort of smiled back. "I won't forget."

The ten agents, along with Casey and Bryce, were in position around the building. They would need to take down the entire Fulcrum team that was inside. From the surveillance they'd been able to obtain, there were also catering and security personnel inside. They couldn't take a chance that someone would escape pretending to be staff.

The only thing they knew about the Elders were their code names. These men and women stayed in the shadows and let their power and influence control the world. They controlled everything from oil and gold prices to the distribution of Intelligence when they thought it should be passed on to further their agenda. The rest they held in reserve for their own gain.

"Chuck, we're ready to go in. Are you ready?" Bryce asked.

The security on the building was easy to overcome with a device Chuck had made when he was 'Carson Michaels'. From the van, Carina was able to hack into the video surveillance and loop the feed. A keycard reader was attached and the door opened with a click after several seconds. They now hoped the opening of the door didn't flash on a security screen.

"Ready, Bryce," Sarah answered for Chuck who was looking intently at the floating images from the helmet cams. She was worried Chuck would get motion sickness with all the movement from the look on Chuck's face.

The five Elder's code names were from Greek Mythology: Ares, Hades, Hermes, Poseidon and Zeus. Names they took that they felt denoted their station. They were the ones that would bring stability to the world once they controlled everything. They considered themselves Gods.

Carina sat in the van cursing the promise she made to Casey. She could help no matter how her leg felt. _Damn him._

Three agents were left outside to round up anyone who happened to elude the rest of the team. The thermal images had shown there were twenty-two people inside.

They needed them alive, at least some of them. Casey didn't agree but he was all about firepower and didn't like it when the director had said they should use tranq guns. He only hoped he got to interrogate some of these it would at least soothe him for a little while until he could get to a firing range where he could blow up things.

According to the blueprints and Chuck, there were only two doors but there had been many modifications to the building since it had been originally built. The building could've changed so much that the original blueprints would be useless. They could be entering a maze that even the Intersect couldn't navigate.

This was the way Casey liked it, shoot first and ask questions later. It made the inner Casey happy. Not that anyone could ever tell by the look on his face.

Casey took the back door with three agents while Bryce took the front door with three more.

Sarah looked at Chuck, concern evident on her face. He'd already flashed five times as Casey and the rest took out the outside guards. All were either NSA or CIA traitors who had defected to Fulcrum but who continued in their former employ to pass information to their new bosses.

The next flash was after Casey had entered the building; his head snapped back, tears coming to his eyes before he even had a chance to speak. "That's Simon Morton, code name Ares. One of the elders." The man was already lying on the floor after Casey had put a tranq dart in his neck. The man with him was also unconscious after being shot by one of the other team members. Chuck recited his name too, Ross Nolan, a former NSA agent who had defected to Fulcrum a few years earlier.

Bryce's team was the next to make contact in the Fulcrum building. Chuck didn't flash on the two next targets. Judging by their clothes, they were part of the catering staff. It didn't matter; they still needed to be taken out before they could alert the others that someone had somehow infiltrated the building.

Xxx

Sarah held Chuck's hand tightly. He was shaking so badly that the water she tried to give him spilled down the front of his shirt. His eyes were glued to the screens, waiting.

_Why did I ever let Chuck do this__? He needs this thing out of his head. He needs someone who would never let this happen to him. I don't deserve a man as wonderful as Chuck but I love him so much. As soon as this is over, I'll never let anyone hurt you again, Chuck._

"Casey, hurry it up. I don't know how much longer Chuck can take this. I think he's on the verge of a mental breakdown."

"Walker, we only have one chance at this kind of opportunity. If we blow it, the Elders will scatter like the wind. We'll…"

The gunshot Casey felt brush by his ear brought him back to the mission. He'd been distracted thinking about Chuck and what this was probably doing to him. Casey dropped his tranq gun, pulling his SIG-Sauer, and shouted into his mic with a gleam in his eyes. "So much for diplomacy, this is a full take down now. Larkin, we'll be herding them your way."

"We've got five heading toward us." The two being pushed in front had terrified looks on their faces. Shouting over his shoulder Bryce ordered. "When I take out the hostages with a tranq, hit the rest with whatever you want. Only cowards use innocent people as shields."

Xxx

Chuck started mumbling, his voice getting lower and lower as the flashes overwhelmed him. Sarah had to listen closely and then repeated what he said to Carina. So far, only one Elder had been captured but Chuck had flashed so many times already in the space of only minutes. Sarah looked at the mission clock. _Had it only been ten minutes, it seemed like hours. _

The stress of these new extended flashes were burning his eyes and scorching his brain. Chuck wanted to look away but was transfixed by the LCD screens and the seemingly endless motion.

Tears began to fall from Sarah's eyes and roll down her cheeks. Her Chuck was in so much pain, she did the only thing she could do. She hit the power button and all the screens faded to black. "Casey, I shut down the video link."

"Walker, we need Chuck to identify the Elders. If one of them escapes they will just start again."

"Then make sure no one escapes," Sarah said bitterly. "This was a mistake; you don't know what it's doing to Chuck. You can't see him he's near a breakdown. I don't know what they did to him this time but I won't let anyone hurt him anymore."

Xxx

Casey and his team were closing in on the door the blueprints showed were the main hall. He kicked open the door and pressed himself back against the wall to avoid the barrage of bullets. Looking around the doorframe, he launched himself into the room, rolling behind a desk set at the back of the room.

The other three agents provided cover fire with their MP5N's until Casey could get into position. Looking around the edge of the desk, Casey saw two men aiming their guns at the open doorway. Taking careful aim, he put a bullet in each man. Behind them, other men were trying to protect and shepherd three men and a woman towards a steel reinforced door in the back of the hall that wasn't in the original blueprints.

"Larkin, where the hell are you?" Casey yelled. _He's probably checking to make sure his hair is perfect_. "We're pinned down. They're going for an escape door."

Casey had just finished speaking when the door at the north end of the room burst open and Larkin and team came in, guns blazing. It was all the distraction Casey needed. He sprinted from his cover location and started taking out the men who a moment before had been firing on him.

Casey flinched when he heard shots coming from a new direction; someone had somehow gotten the drop on Casey. He saw the man fall and then spun around, ready to fire on a new threat. "Carina, what the hell are you doing in here? You're supposed to stay in the van."

"Walker cut the transmission so I thought I would get in on the fun. There was nothing for me to do in the van." Carina smiled when another Fulcrum agent fell to the floor with a bullet in his head from her S&W.

A burst from an MP5N distracted Casey from his conversation with Carina. Casey looked to the steel door and saw four men fall to the ground, having been stitched with shells from his team. There were only the three men and a woman left standing. They put their hands up and walked to the middle of the room.

Casey approached with his gun ready to fire while Bryce and the rest of the men checked to make sure none of the fallen Fulcrum agents posed a threat. Casey pulled zip-ties out and secured the prisoners hands behind their backs before lowering his weapon.

Carina limped up and Casey put his arm around her. "You know what this means?"

"If these are the Elders, Fulcrum is no more," Carina smiled.

"Carina, you left the van. You remember what I said?"

"I'm sure I can make you forget that," Carina smirked while whispering in Casey's ear.

Casey coughed while trying to hold back from choking. "We'll see."

Xxx

Sarah was worried. She'd paged Devon and Ellie. Chuck seemed so out of it she thought he might be having a stroke. He was leaning on her shoulder and drooling. She didn't care; she only wanted to make sure Chuck was okay.

Devon and Ellie burst into the room and immediately started to check Chuck's vitals.

Devon pressed a stethoscope to Chuck's chest. "His heartbeat is a little fast but that is probably to be expected. What happened?"

Sarah had tears in her eyes as she explained the events that led up to her shutting down the video feeds. "Chuck couldn't take it anymore. I just shut it all down."

Ellie gave Sarah's shoulder a squeeze. "You did the right thing, Sarah."

"I never should've let them do this to Chuck. He wasn't ready," Sarah blurted out between sobs while holding Chuck as tightly as she could.

Chuck opened his eyes and pulled away from Sarah. His eyes looked lost, like someone who was disoriented and in a haze. . He blushed when he noticed the look Sarah was giving him.

"I… I… thank you for helping me. I must have passed out. I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused." Chuck looked down at his slippered feet.

"Where are my chucks?' There was almost something childlike about his request. Sarah smiled when she thought about how he was remembering things but then froze when she realized he was waiting for reply.

"Chuck, you didn't have any shoes when we had to leave the hospital," Sarah replied.

"Oh man, Ellie is going to kill me. She just bought them for me. I begged her for them and she had to save for almost a month," Chuck started to shake.

Ellie overheard the conversation and ran over to help Sarah control Chuck. "It's okay, Chuck, I'll get you another pair."

"But Ellie, I'm sorry I lost them," Chuck started to cry.

"You didn't lose them, you left them in the hall and someone stole them. I promise I'll get you another pair." Ellie's words only made Chuck start to cry harder.

Xxx

A/N: Hope you enjoy. If not let me know how I can get better.

Thanks to all the readers who left reviews and all who put alerts on this story, I hope you like this chapter too. I love you, not as much as I love Sarah but close, actually not even close but thanks.

Please leave a review, I enjoy hearing from you.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: I don't own Chuck or anyone else in the Chuck world. **

This isn't the end but we're so close my thumb and finger are almost touching. Lol.

Once again, my brilliant, wonderful and amazing beta **jagged1** is my inspiration, conscience and all around taskmaster. Lol. Thank you jag, I don't think I say it often enough.

A special shout-out to NikkiR, it was pointed out that you put on your profile page that you were addicted to my story among many others much more deserving than mine. You are so perceptive and from your reviews, you seem to know what I'm going to write as soon as I do. You are too kind.

To my friend Tynianrex thanks for all your help. If you haven't read the first chapter of his story 'Chuck vs The Pond' you should. It's great; I'm still waiting for the next chapter, please, soon.

Xxx

Chapter 19

Xxx

Sarah held Chuck and she could feel him shaking. She was afraid that if she let him go, the Chuck she loved would fade away, leaving only the Intersect-fueled man she had found only a day ago. She wanted the Chuck she knew in Burbank; the sweet man who warmed her heart and broke through her Agent walls.

"Ellie, what's wrong with him?" Sarah pleaded.

Ellie glanced over to Sarah and smiled, hiding her worry under an encouraging smile "Don't worry, we'll get him back."

"Ellie, his temp is rising and his blood pressure is spiking. Sarah, we need the sedatives that Casey took from me," Devon said with an anxious look.

Sarah quickly handed over the bag Casey had handed her hoping it would help. _It has to help, you have to be okay. Please Chuck I need you. I need you to hold me when I get scared._

Devon quickly loaded a hypodermic and injected Chuck with it. "Relax bro. You're going to be fine. We're here to help, and you need some sleep," Devon coaxed.

Chuck's head fell to the pillow and his face relaxed from it former tense look. "Can I stay with him?" Sarah asked, looking at Ellie who was trying to school her face and hide her true thoughts.

"I can't think of anything else that would make him feel better, Sarah," Ellie replied. "It's okay. I know you love him. There's nothing wrong with showing concern.

"Thanks, Ellie." Sarah crawled up on the bed, putting her head on Chuck's shoulder while whispering in his ear.

"Sarah, I think you two need a little time alone. We'll be in the cafeteria getting a coffee. Press this button if… when he wakes up." Devon pointed at the button on the table beside the bed.

Xxx

Casey had contacted Director Adams after the building was secure. The situation was fluid to say the least. A cleaner team would be dispatched to dispose of the dead but the live and tranqed needed a secure location to be debriefed and questioned.

Adams was succinct in his orders: secure the living and sweep them for locator beacons before bringing them back to the Bunker. He only hoped they had enough cells to hold them all. Because of the incomplete Intersect analysis, identities were still in question and no one was beyond recrimination.

"With Bartowski's flash, we've been able to ascertain the identity of one of the elders. I'm fairly certain as to the other four but we'll need confirmation."

"What is the situation?" Adams asked.

"There are fifteen in custody, fourteen men and one woman. Four sleeping off tranq darts, two seriously wounded but they'll survive, the rest are sitting in front of me in handcuffs. The others are dead. It was a hell of a battle, Sir," Casey added with a pleased grunt.

"Take pictures of the dead. We'll need to ID them. You have thirty minutes to leave the premises. The cleanup team will arrive then before the police can get involved."

"I'll need rooms to conduct the interrogations." Casey almost smiled thinking about that.

"Do you have transportation to bring them all here? It's the safest place right now. I just spoke to the President and he wants this cleared up as fast as possible. He's wondering if he can trust all his staff and security detail."

"We can be there in about an hour. What is Bartowski's status? Will he be able to confirm the identities of the prisoners and the dead?"

"Unknown, Major. I just spoke with Dr. Woodcomb and he explained that Mr. Bartowski's brain might have overloaded. Right now, he said he's regressed to earlier memories of when he was a child but they are hopeful that he will recover."

Casey winced when he heard that all the flashing had injured Chuck. He'd been the one to insist that Chuck do it. How could he ever look Walker or Ellie in the eye again if Chuck didn't recover?

"As soon as you have the situation under control, I have a special pickup for you and Agent Hansen. You are to deliver your charge here until things settle down."

"Yes, sir. I'll call again as soon as we are ready for departure."

Xxx

The ride back to the bunker was uncomfortable for Casey to say the least. Carina had insisted on driving, and Casey sat in the back of the Hummer with a handcuffed General Diane Beckman glowering at him. "Major Casey, you of all people know that in this business you have no friends. The greater good is what we all work toward; I did what needed to be done to take down Fulcrum with what I had at my disposal."

Casey had been ignoring Beckman as much as possible but her last statement caused a low dangerous growl to rumble in his throat. "General, I've spent too many years doing what I do, trying to protect those that needed protection. We do terrible things in the night so that the innocent can sleep peacefully never knowing what we do. You stole the innocence of one you swore to protect and in doing so destroyed many lives."

Beckman shrank back from the look on Casey's face before deciding to try another tact. "Agent Hansen, can you talk some sense into the Major?"

Carina laughed but it had no mirth in it. "General, what you did is beyond incomprehensible. If Chuckie doesn't recover, it won't be us you have to worry about."

The General scowled at her, but kept her mouth shut this time. Carina didn't need to spell it out for her. She would be facing Agent Walker soon enough.

The rest of the ride was in silence and no one seemed to want to talk.

Xxx

Bryce reported to Director Adams after depositing all the captured traitors in cells. There weren't enough so they were forced to double up the occupancy. Devon and Ellie had taken care of the two seriously wounded agents. Ellie wanted to stay by her brother but her Hippocratic Oath overrode all other concerns. She was a doctor first.

The two injured were left under guard in the infirmary cells and Devon and Ellie walked down the hall to get a coffee before heading back to check on Chuck. Carina was limping down the hall followed by a short red haired woman dressed in military uniform followed by Casey.

Casey looked sheepish as he nodded at the two doctors as they came abreast of them. "How's Chuck?"

"We don't know yet. He's sleeping right now and Sarah is with him," Ellie answered.

"Keep us advised Ellie. We're all worried," Carina said and Ellie could hear the concern in her tone.

"Sure, Carina."

Casey nodded again before speaking. "This way, General. Director Adams wants to talk to you."

Ellie notice the handcuffs holding the short woman's hands in front of her. "General Beckman?"

"Do I know you, young lady?"

Ellie's face changed from her usual friendly look to one of loathing and then rage.

_Thwack!_

If not for Casey standing behind her, Beckman would've hit the floor from the force of the slap from Ellie Bartowski. He was able to catch her in his arms.

The shocked look on Beckman's face showed. No one had ever struck her.

"You bitch" Ellie ground out evenly between her teeth. You took Chuck away from us. You let us think he was dead. You let me bury an empty coffin and mourn the loss of my brother. How could you do that? You're the Government, you're supposed to help and protect us."

Carina stepped in front of the General. "Ellie, she'll get what's coming to her. Trust me." The glint in Carina's eyes soothed the tiger in Ellie.

"Don't ever let me see that woman again or I will kill her," Ellie stammered out shaking with rage.

Devon took Ellie in his arms and began to rub his hands up and down her back. "Let's skip the coffee babe and go check on Chuck."

Casey and Carina opened the door and guided Beckman inside, seating her at the table across from a smiling Adams.

"Major Casey, Agent Hansen. We'll handle it from here," Adams said nodding toward the LCD screen with the Presidential logo floating across it. "You've essentially cut the head off of Fulcrum. They are no more without the Elders. Please post two guards outside the door and then take some well-deserved downtime. I'll alert you when we can move from this location. There will be some cleanup work to be done.

As Casey and Carina started to turn to leave the room, the LCD lit up and the President looked at the occupants of the room. "Major Casey, Agent Hansen. Thank you for all your diligent work. I'm sure you want to check on your friend."

Casey stiffly accepted the platitudes while Carina was suitably impressed to be addressed by the President. Bad enough Casey was temporarily taking orders from the CIA and now a Democrat complimented him. What next?

Knowing they were being dismissed, Casey grabbed Carina by the arm and pulled her from the room. There were things to be discussed that were above their pay grade.

"Let's get a coffee and check on Chuck." Casey suggested, pulling the reluctant Carina with him out of the room.

"General Beckman," The President started. "I'm going to make you a once in a lifetime deal. You'll have thirty seconds to accept it. If you don't, I'll put you in a cell somewhere and throw away the key. You will resign quietly, no public announcement; the reason being personal reasons. You will be in custody and house arrest until the last of Fulcrum has been cleaned from all the Agencies they've infiltrated. After that, you will fade away. A new identity will be provided where you will live out your life. The only reason I'm offering this deal is because of all the years of service you have provided to this country."

Beckman stared wide-eyed at the President. _How could a President who didn't understand the niceties of the Spy Game purport to understand what people like her did for her country. _

"Sir, with all due respect, you must underst-"

The president cut her off before she could hang herself.

"I do understand General, more that you think."

"Times up, General. Pick your poison. Bunker or retirement which do you choose?"

Beckman seethed for a second, but seeing the steel in the eyes of the President, she relented. "I'll write my resignation immediately."

"Wise choice, General. Director Adams, have the guards escort her to a room for the duration of her stay here. Once she provides her resignation, have it sent to me. I'll accept it right away but will delay appointing a new head of the NSA until allegiances are confirmed."

The LCD screen went black and Beckman glared at Adams. "This is your doing. He doesn't understand but you should."

"Diane, I do understand better than you think. You stepped over the line when you took Bartowski."

Adams opened the door and told the two guards to take Beckman to one of the suites available and stay on duty outside the door until relieved.

Xxx

Sarah looked up quickly and fingered one of her knives when she heard the door open. She relaxed when she saw Devon poke his head inside the room.

"Is it safe to come in?" Devon quipped, trying to lighten the mood as he and Ellie entered the room.

"Chuck is still asleep. Can you check on him? You said he would be awake by now… I'm worried."

Devon and Ellie checked the readouts from the machines they'd hooked Chuck up to after his 'episode' as Ellie had called it. "All the readings are normal. He should be awake by now."

"But he isn't, Ellie, and I'm worried. I need my Chuck back."

"Sarah, you have to understand, he may never be the same. I don't understand this whole Intersect thing. I don't want to give him anything to wake him up. I think he needs this time to heal his mind," Ellie answered Sarah's questioning look.

Devon tried to break the tension and laughed before speaking. "Ellie got a good shot in on General Beckman. I don't think she'll ever forget meeting my babe."

"Beckman is here? Where is she?" Sarah asked as her eyes showed her hatred for the woman who had almost destroyed her life.

"Uhh, Sarah, she's in custody. Casey and Carina had her in handcuffs. You don't need to worry about her anymore," Ellie said trying to soothe Sarah's anger while shooting a glare at Devon for bringing it up.

Casey and Carina entered at that moment to check on Chuck. "Is the moron awake yet?" Casey flinched when Ellie flashed him a murderous glare.

"He's still unconscious. Right now, we don't know when he'll wake up," Devon answered.

Carina rushed over to Sarah and gave her a hug. "Don't give up, Sarah. Since I've known him, he's done some amazing things."

"I'm not giving up, Carina. I'm just scared."

Casey waved everyone to the back of the room while Sarah intently stared at Chuck hoping he would wake up any second.

"The truth, Ellie. How is he?" Casey asked.

"We don't know, John. This Intersect is something we've never dealt with before. He may never wake up," Ellie answered with tears in her eyes.

"What if they could somehow remove the Intersect? Would that help?" Casey asked.

"Can that be done?" Devon quickly asked.

Carina answered before Casey could. She had an idea where Casey was going with this. . "When we found Chuck in the warehouse, we also apprehended the original designer of the Intersect, Orion. If he designed it, maybe he can somehow remove it or at least disable it so Chuck can live a normal life."

"What are we waiting for? Let's get this Orion here now to look at Chuck - the sooner the better," Ellie almost squealed at the good news.

Carina looked Chuck with concern. "We'll talk to Adams right away."

Devon and Ellie moved back to check on Chuck after Carina and Casey left on their mission to enlist the possible help of Orion. They both hoped it was not too late.

Ellie put her hand on Sarah's shoulder. "Sarah honey, you need a break. I'll stay with Chuck. Go with Devon, get coffee, and get cleaned up. Chuck won't want to see you like this when he wakes up." Ellie tried to sound hopeful.

Sarah looked at her with a raised brow, wondering if she looked half as ragged as she felt. "I don't want to leave him, he needs me."

"He doesn't need you like this. He needs you to be strong for him."

Sarah relented. "I do need to use the bathroom. I'll be back in a minute Chuck. I love you, never forget that," she whispered in his ear before she left with Devon.

Devon walked down the hall with Sarah trying to sound upbeat about the situation. On the way to the bathroom, they passed a door guarded by two agents. "That must be where they're keeping Beckman."

Sarah grunted at the name but continued down the hall. "Devon, I think I can find the bathroom myself, I'll be back in a few minutes."

"I'm going to grab a coffee for us. I'll see you back in Chuck's room."

"I'll see you there." Sarah smiled knowing she wouldn't see him there.

Xxx

Minutes after Sarah had released his hand and left the room, Chuck began to thrash violently about in his bed. He started to moan and scream for her.

_My Angel, where are you? I need you._

"Chuck, Chuck, wake up," Ellie begged.

Chuck's eyes flashed open, looking for Sarah. "Where is Sarah?"

"Chuck, thank God. She'll be back in a minute. She needed to go to the bathroom."

"No, I need her now," Chuck answered as he attempted to get out of the bed.

Ellie pressed her hand into his chest, reassuring him that she would be right back.

Hearing the door, Ellie smiled at Chuck. "See? She's back already."

Seeing only Devon enter with a tray of coffee, Ellie questioned him. "Where's Sarah?"

"She said she'd just be a minute."

Chuck struggled out of the bed, heading to the door despite the attempts of Devon and Ellie trying to stop him.

Xxx

Sarah exited the bathroom with a mission in mind. She was going to kill Beckman for what she did to Chuck.

Sarah walked down the hall ignoring the agents outside the door until she had passed them, before spinning on her heel. She struck the first with her fist and the other with a heel to his jaw, knocking both out.

_Nothing would keep her from exacting her revenge on Beckman._

Pulling a gun from the holster of one of the unconscious agents, Sarah used his keycard to enter the room.

Xxx

Chuck staggered up the hall with Devon and Ellie in pursuit. Their attempts to stop him resulted in being pushed away, not violently but enough that they didn't hinder his progress.

Casey, hearing the alarm on Beckman's door, rushed there only to see two agents laying on the floor and the door open.

Entering the suite, Casey took in the situation in a second. Sarah had a gun trained on Beckman as she sat at a table staring into Sarah's face. Neither woman looked at him as he entered the room.

"Walker, put the gun down," Casey ordered.

"Agent Walker, stand down," Beckman said coolly.

"I'm not here as Agent Walker. I'm here as Sarah and this is about what you did to my family."

Casey started to move towards Sarah. "Sarah, put the gun down."

"No, Casey, I have to do this. She deserves it."

Casey spun around when he heard noises coming from the hall. Chuck staggered inside the room and leaned against the doorframe. He could see Devon and Ellie checking the unconscious guards but he lifted his eyes to stare at the strange look on Chuck's face.

Chuck moved away from the door towards Sarah, who still held the gun aimed steady at Beckman. "Stay back, Casey," Sarah growled.

"Sarah," Chuck called weakly.

Sarah's head spun quickly, watching as Chuck inched closer to her.

"You don't have to do this Sarah," he whispered.

"Chuck?" Sarah asked, looking into his brown eyes and she felt tears coming to her eyes.

"This isn't you, Sarah. It's not who you are anymore. You're my Sarah now," Chuck said, putting his hand on top of the gun and pushing it toward the floor.

She hesitated, her eyes shifting between Beckman and Chuck before she finally dropped the gun to the floor and pulled Chuck to her. "I love you, Chuck, and I am your Sarah. I'll always be your Sarah."

Casey moved around them and retrieved the gun from the floor before nodding to Devon and Ellie to help the pair back to the infirmary. He could see that Chuck was near passing out.

Casey looked toward Beckman, who still had a stiff look on her face. "I suggest you never cross either of those two women again. Trust me, the next time you might not be so lucky."

Xxx

Chuck was once again in the bed and while the after effects of tears were still evident on Sarah's face, she was holding his hand and seemed almost giddy. "How do you feel Chuck?"

"Better now that you're here, Sarah."

Sarah smiled when he said her name. _Why do I feel this way now? I've loved him for so long. It's as if he can sense everything I feel when I feel it. _

Chuck opened his eyes and smiled through the pain. It was a smile she'd never seen before; there was the look of love she came to crave but there was a hint of playfulness.

Sarah moved closer to Chuck and whispered in his ear. "Chuck?"

"I loved you, my Sarah, many times but we didn't use protection." Chuck's smile just got bigger.

Sarah looked at him for a minute, trying to decipher his comment. It was then that Sarah realized that she had always gotten her monthly contraceptive injection but since she'd been off-grid, she'd missed several.

"Chuck, it was only…" A look of longing appeared on her face. "What do you think you know?" Sarah asked, confused.

Chuck moved his right hand to her belly and rubbed circles. "Sarah, I can feel it. I loved you and I love you."

Sarah moved her hand on top of Chuck's, and her smile got bigger by the second as she comprehended what he was saying. "I love you too Chuck."

Xxx

Director Adams' first order of business was directing the arrest of any other Fulcrum Agents that might be in sensitive positions within any of the nation's agencies.

On a visit to the infirmary to check on the health of Chuck, Adams broached the subject of positively identifying the final four elders of Fulcrum and the arrival of Orion.

Casey interrupted him. "After the confession," Casey smiled and cracked his knuckles, "we now know we have the five elders in custody."

Sarah stood and glared at the director before growling. "Chuck is not doing anymore flashing for you."

"I've spoken to Orion personally, and he says there is no way to remove the Intersect but he thinks he can fix what Beckman and her hacks did to…Chuck."

"Agent Walker, I…"

"It's Sarah, not Agent Walker anymore. I'm done. I just got Chuck back and I'm not going to lose him again. We're getting married and…" Sarah started but then smiled and looked down at Chuck who smiled back with that special glint in his eye and pressed his hand to her belly.

Carina, Devon and Ellie stood on the other side of the bed looking stern at the director daring him to ask Chuck to flash again.

"Sarah, you must understand. The Intersect will always be in his head, Orion said Chuck will never be normal."

"I don't want normal, I want extraordinary. I want my Chuck," Sarah said. "I want guarantees from this Orion that Chuck won't be affected by the Intersect."

"He'll be here in an hour to examine Chuck. We've allowed him to retrieve all his research and any equipment he needs. We've offered him immunity if he does this."

"Devon and I will be there the whole time," Ellie said. "Don't worry, Sarah. We won't let him hurt my baby brother."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, Orion demanded that he be the only one in the room because of the potential risk this procedure. You can watch and monitor from the room next door via video feed." Adams answered.

"No way are we leaving Chuck alone with another of those Intersect scientists." Sarah growled.

"I have to tell you; before you came to me with this idea Orion had just contacted me about this very thing. He's very sincere in wanting to help Chuck."

Ellie asked. "We'll be able to watch the whole thing?"

Ellie looked to Sarah who was squeezing Chuck's hand so hard Chuck was wincing in pain.

"Do you want to do this Chuck? Can you handle it?" Sarah asked.

Chuck squeezed Sarah's hand and looked into her eyes before nodding.

Xxx

Orion set the equipment up and the projector that he would use to reverse the violent flashes Chuck had been experiencing since the reset. Everyone was squeezed into the small room watching the video feed with intent interest. None of them really understood what Orion was doing or talking about but they did know he seemed sincere in his desire to help Chuck. Orion kept his back to the camera. "Please understand, this was never meant to be downloaded into a human brain. The Intersect was designed for a computer with artificial intelligence meant to mimic the human brain. This man is very special. I never envisioned a human being able to absorb this amount of data. I think I can downgrade the Intersect to when he first received it. The flashes will eventually dissipate as the data becomes old and out of date. I'm sorry, but that is the best I can do."

"Will he be able to lead a normal life?" Ellie asked after pressing the button for two-way communication.

As normal as having a computer in his head can be," Orion, answered quizzically.

Ellie smiled before answering. "Thank you. We don't even know your name."

"Better that way. Once I do this you'll never see me again."

Orion put his glasses on. "Please put your glasses on, we're ready to begin. This will take an hour or more so please be patient.

Chuck was strapped into the chair and everyone else was wearing special glasses. "Initiating Intersect download," Orion said before the flash of images began.

Xxx

The first thing Chuck saw when he opened his eyes was a concerned Sarah staring intently at him. "Hey Sarah, I just had the most vivid dream. I dreamed…I can't tell you. You'll think it's weird."

Sarah smiled a special smile. "Was it about us?"

Chuck moved uncomfortably before answering. "Yes, I…I can't tell you."

"I love you Chuck, I hope it was about how much I love you."

"I think I'm still dreaming."

"You're not dreaming, Chuck. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you," Sarah said as she pressed her lips to his, enjoying the taste of her Chuck.

Chuck was shocked for a moment but Sarah's soft lips turned his brain to mush. The only thing he could think was how much he loved her.

Chuck's eyes opened wide when Sarah stopped to take a breath. "I love you Sarah."

Chuck stared into the most brilliant blue eyes he'd ever seen. The Goddess Angel he'd loved since he met loved him. The smile on his face widened and Sarah's smiled back.

Xxx

A/N: Hope you enjoy. If not let me know how I can get better.

Thanks to all the readers who left reviews and all who put alerts on this story, I hope you like this chapter too. I love you, not as much as I love Sarah but close, actually not even close but thanks.

I still have a short, semi-short, or maybe even semi-long epilogue to add to this. I know I've left some loose ends but that will be explained later. I've already got almost 2K written so I have no real idea how long it'll be but it will be the end of the story.

I want to thank everyone who reviewed or put alerts on this, thank you for sticking with me on this long journey.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: I don't own Chuck or anyone else in the Chuck world. **

This is the end but I hate to say good-bye. It's been a run I so enjoyed only enhanced by all the wonderful reviews I've received. If I missed replying to any, I'm very sorry.

**Jagged1** is the best; even with a wonky computer, she was able to help me with this. I haven't heard from her in a couple days so maybe they sent Jeff and Lester to fix her laptop rather than Chuck. Lol.

Sorry for the lateness of this but I have a pinched nerve or something; I can barely lift my right arm so all this was done with my left hand only. I'm hoping for some resolution soon.

I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I have. Sincerely I say, "I love you all."

To my friend Tynianrex who helped and gave me encouragement I have only one thing to say. Read his story, it is amazing. 'Chuck vs. the Pond'.

Xxx

Epilogue

Xxx

"Sarah, the things I've done. The things they've made me do. How can you even look at me?" Chuck asked with downcast eyes.

"Chuck, you had no control over what you did. You were brainwashed." Sarah answered while squeezing Chuck's hand to show she understood or at least accepted it.

It had been five days since the mysterious Orion had reset the original Intersect allowing Chuck a moment of sanity. Five days trying to assimilate his memories of his life before any of this had happened.

Only two days since the CIA had allowed them to move Chuck above ground to a real hospital, deeming it safe. Sarah had stayed by his side all through the nightmares and questions he invariably had whenever he woke from one of his remembrances. She held his hand so tightly that she was sure he would complain when he woke but he never complained. He was always smiling when he saw her concerned face and he would squeeze back in comfort even when his eyes were filled with tears.

Casey had run several ops and supervised several others that were out of his immediate venue. A happy Casey was hard to imagine but after one such operation, he actually smiled.

Like an infant, he remembered things from his childhood quickly and then on to his adult life and the tragedy of how his time at Stanford had ended. Then on to how he'd wallowed in self-pity at the Buy-More for five years until Sarah had come into his life, changing it forever in a way he never wanted to forget.

It was only when he started to remember how it had all derailed. Beckman had her doctor give him an Intersect update and the subsequent events that happened. How he'd been captured and killed, only to be brought back to life as the cold-blooded Agent Michaels. No memory of his 'Forgotten Life' and the things he'd done.

Sarah held his hand tightly when he started to tremble from a particularly bad memory. It only made her love him more when he was disturbed by some of the things the Intersect and Beckman had forced him to do. _He was still her Chuck._

"Don't worry, Chuck, I'm here and I love you. You'll never be alone and we'll deal with this together," Sarah said in a soothing voice.

"I know, Sarah, but these memories will be with me forever. Every time I close my eyes, I see them," Chuck stammered.

"That wasn't you, Chuck. They will fade. Just know that it wasn't you."

Devon and Ellie had kept a constant watch on Chuck, checking on him as often as they felt prudent. Orion had warned that although he'd done all he could, Chuck still had the Intersect in his brain. His flashes would become milder but there was still the chance of complications. As he was leaving, Ellie had noticed that he flashed a card at the people watching in the observation room and left it on the table.

When they went to check on Chuck, Ellie picked up the card and looked at the back. She looked at the phone number and code phrase. '_If you need me, I'm only a phone call away_.' She tucked the card in her pocket before anyone else could see it.

Xxx

The next day, Director Adams knocked on the door of the infirmary and waited for permission to enter.

"Come in," Sarah called.

Adams looked at Chuck lying in the bed with Sarah curled up beside him. Remembering the confrontation from the day before, he waited at a safe distance. When Sarah looked at him without a knife in her hand, he approached closer to plead his case.

Thinking how to address them, he decided on the friendly approach. "Chuck, Sarah, I spoke to Orion before he left. He advised me that Chuck is able to flash with little or no difficulty; he was unable to remove the Intersect at this time. He will continue to look for a way to do that, for now I'm afraid Chuck will still be an asset to the government." Backing up with his hands raised in surrender Adams continued. "What I mean to say is Chuck will still need protection, we've decimated Fulcrum but there are still people and organizations that would do anything to capture Chuck. Sarah, you may want to reconsider your desire to quit. I'm offering you the opportunity of a lifetime. You will become Chuck's fulltime handler and protector. Major Casey and Agent Hansen have expressed interest in becoming part of a team located in Burbank. I've also spoken to both of the Doctors Woodcomb."

Sarah eyes had hardened when she heard the word handler and protector. "I've made my choice and my choice is I want to marry Chuck. I want to…"

"You misunderstand Sarah, you can marry Chuck. I have no objection to that. Chuck will be much safer with you by his side 24/7. It's just that we may still require Chuck's services now and then in a true analyst position."

Chuck squeezed Sarah's hand and smiled when she turned to look at him. "How often and how much?"

"Right now we need his help in confirming the identities of the last four elders and any other information he can provide to us about their organization. After that, we will try not to disrupt your life as much as we can but there will be situations where we will need the Intersect. I've done some research and I'm sorry to tell you it may be many years before the information in Chuck's head becomes stale. You both may serve your country for years to come."

"I…" Sarah started.

Chuck coughed and squeezed Sarah's hand tightly forcing her to look at him. "I think we need to discuss this director, between ourselves," Chuck said finally entering the conversation.

"Take your time with your final decision but we really need your help in confirming the identities of the elders and what you can tell us about them. We have them in custody but even they only know each other by their code names. That is the one bit of information they seem reluctant to part with. We think it may be because they might have their own independent organization that they somehow hope will rescue them."

Chuck moved to get out of the bed when Sarah growled and placed her hand on his chest. "You're not going anywhere. We can do this with video. I'm not letting you out of bed yet." Sarah looked to Adams for confirmation.

"The video monitor will be set up in an hour," Adams said while backing out of the room.

Sarah turned to Chuck and climbed back onto the bed, laying by his side and looking deep into his eyes. "Chuck, we were supposed to be done with this. Do you really want to get back into it?"

Chuck looked into the deep blue eyes that seemed endless. "We have a family we need to protect now from all the crazies in the world. We could run and go off grid but could either of us live with ourselves if anything happened we might've been able to prevent? You heard the director, Carina and Casey have already signed up as part of the team and Devon and Ellie."

"I know, Chuck, I want to help them but I want you safe. I don't want to lose you again," Sarah said with watery eyes.

"This may be the only way to make sure. Sarah, will you be a spy with me?" Chuck asked with a wide grin.

Sarah looked at Chuck and crashed her lips to his, and when she broke for air she whispered, "I will Chuck."

"Then it's official, we'll be spies together."

Sarah pulled back and doodled with her finger on Chuck's chest while looking coyly at him. "You know Chuck, back when we were in that basement, you asked something in Klingon. Bryce translated it but I would still like to hear it from you. In English, so I can understand and answer you."

Chuck was dumfounded and a worried look came over his face. Chuck noticed Sarah using her left ring finger to trace his chest and a memory came to him. He wanted so much to be down on one knee with a special ring in a velvet box in his hand when he did this but he decided it wasn't so much how you did it but how much you meant it.

"I love you. Sarah Walker, will you marry me?"

Sarah smiled coyly before it became a megawatt smile that made Chuck's heart swell. "Chuck Bartowski, I will marry you," Sarah said before kissing Chuck passionately.

Sarah and Chuck pulled apart when the knock came to the door. "Come back in twenty minutes," Sarah yelled before pressing her lips to Chuck's again.

Sarah pulled back from Chuck gasping for air when she heard the knock on the door again. Glancing at the clock, she realized it had been exactly twenty minutes. Where had the time gone? Chuck was such a good kisser, her heart was pounding in her chest and her pulse was racing. Only Casey could be that precise. She'd asked for twenty minutes and she got twenty minutes, probably to the second.

Panting she called over her shoulder, "Come in."

Casey pushed the door open and strode inside with a monitor tucked under his arm. "Ready for the video show?" Casey asked.

"Do I have a choice?" Chuck asked with a laugh.

"No, but you can always hope, you can always…" Casey started before the door opened again and Carina limped in.

"He's really a pussy-cat," Carina laughed at the look on Casey's face. "If you…"

"TMI," Chuck yelled. "I give."

Sarah and Carina laughed while the two men looked uncomfortable.

Steeling his face, Casey continued. "Ready for the video?"

"Ready," Chuck answered, anything to get beyond what came before.

Sarah stood beside Chuck, holding his hand and ready to destroy the monitor if it caused Chuck the least bit of discomfort.

They started with the Fulcrum defectors, testing Chuck to make sure it didn't overwhelm him.

Chuck flashed on every picture with barely a noticeable twitch. These were the easy ones. Chuck braced himself when they said they were going to show him the pictures of the suspected elders. The first flash rocked him slightly. He was starting to get a mild headache but otherwise he was fine.

Sarah was holding his hand and speaking soothingly into his ear. It just made everything better no matter what he did. The woman of his dreams helped him on so many levels.

The last image was of Ares, the elder he'd already identified and Sarah held her breath while Chuck flashed. It was a stronger version of the original. His eyes rolled back quickly and then refocused in less than a second. There was a slight sign of pain and discomfort. Chuck had a momentary look of confusion but it was also gone in less than a second. The whole thing had passed so fast that if she and the others hadn't been looking for it they might have missed it.

"Simon Morton, code name Ares. CEO of MorFor Enterprises, a multinational company dealing in pharmaceuticals, computer technology and military hardware," Chuck announced lucidly. "They have contracts with the US government. They were awarded the contract based on their new GPS software that can track a fly down a mineshaft though fifty feet of rock. I hope you checked him for trackers carefully. They've designed them so they are no bigger than a button. He's based in Croatia and has a secret militia for security."

Chuck's words hadn't stopped resonating before Casey was out of the door and headed down the hall.

Chuck looked around surprised at the sudden departure. "Sarah, what did I say?"

Carina answered before Sarah could. "I don't think they imagined this kind of technology. Casey is probably going to have them take all the prisoner's clothes and put them in the on–site incinerator."

Chuck flashed and a dark look came over his face. He remembered that his descent into hell and his rebirth and finding Sarah again had started when Beckman had order the incinerator implanted in his head.

"You okay, Chuckie?" Carina asked.

Sarah spun around looking at Chuck. The look of disgust was still on his face. He was reliving the events that had led to his being hit by the car and sent to the hospital. Mostly, he was thinking about what he'd seen on the Orange Orange screen that had started it all.

"Can you give us a minute?" Sarah asked a confused Carina.

"Sure, I can give Casey a hand," Carina smiled.

After the door closed, Sarah looked Chuck in the eye. "Chuck, there will be times you will flash on things that might upset you but you have to remember I love you and only you."

Chuck looked at Sarah with a shy smile. "I wasn't thinking about that, I was thinking about how everything that has happened and you still love me."

"Tell me the truth Chuck. No lies."

"Okay, I was thinking about that night. I'm okay now. It just sort of freaked me out for a few minutes."

"Is that all?" Sarah asked.

Sarah kissed Chuck with all the love she could give. Pulling back, she smiled when he smirked at her. "I could get used to this."

"You better."

Xxx

Two days later, Chuck came back from using the bathroom after having stared in the mirror for over ten minutes. Sarah had been worried that he'd been so long but after calling out to him and him answering, she relaxed.

"This isn't my face, Sarah. What happened to my face?"

"It doesn't matter, Chuck, it's you I love not your face. I love your smile; your curls and the way your brown eyes make me feel so loved."

"But, these scars and… I don't know. I don't recognize myself anymore. What did they do to me?"

"They did plastic surgery. I think they didn't want anyone to recognize you. I would know you anywhere Chuck if you smiled that special _I love you, Sarah_ smile at me."

"Can they do something to make look like I used to, at least? They owe me that much after what they put me through," Chuck said.

"I'm sure they can but it's not important to me, Chuck. I love you." Sarah said as she kissed Chuck passionately.

"I love you too, Sarah. Are you sure you can live with this face?"

"I just want you. As long as you're my Chuck, I'll love you."

"Would you be disappointed if I wanted to go back to the way I looked before? I want to know the person I see in the mirror," Chuck asked hesitantly.

. If you want, we can do it but you don't have to do it for me or Ellie."

Xxx

One week later, the bandages had come off and Sarah walked into the room after the doctor had left. She looked Chuck in the eyes. "I love you Chuck."

"What do you think of my new old face?"

"I told you it doesn't matter. I love the inner Chuck, not your face."

Chuck looked deep into Sarah's blue eyes and accepted what she said. "Do you think you can still love a nerd?" Chuck laughed.

"I fell in love with a nerd, so I think I can still love a nerd," Sarah smirked.

Casey pushed the door open without knocking this time.

"Bartowski," Casey scowled, "you had the chance with the plastic surgery to look like anyone, and _that's_ the ugly mug you picked?" Casey rolled his eyes.

"I told them as long as I didn't look like a certain NSA agent, I was happy," Chuck snapped back with a smile.

"Oh, no worries there, Bartowski. You'd need to spend a couple decades in the gym for that to happen."

"Casey!" Sarah jumped to Chuck's defense.

Casey grunted with humor. "Adams wants a briefing in five if you can get your lazy ass out of that bed."

"We'll be there Casey." Sarah answered ignoring his barb.

Xxx

The briefing was short as Adams addressed the new Team Bartowski. Carina, Devon and Ellie had been added and now it was a six-person team. Devon and Ellie would provide medical support and Carina would be partnered with Casey on mission ops. Unless Chuck flashed, the team's job would be to provide Intel when needed. Orion had said the Intersect would fade with time as it became outdated, but until then he was still a valuable asset.

Director Adams looked at Chuck's face before commenting. "Team, you will no longer be based in Burbank. I'm afraid everyone there believes Chuck is dead."

Chuck and the others looked chagrined at the thought of leaving the warmth of Southern California - except Casey who thanked God he wouldn't have to deal with Jeff and Lester anymore.

"I think Los Angeles is big enough that we can find you a new base of operations that would preclude yourselves from running into anyone who knows Chuck." Adams added.

"Major Casey, you've been loaned out to the CIA," Adams chuckled at Casey's scowl, "for the duration of this assignment."

Casey grunted in answer.

"Agent Hansen, if you're ready for field work. I have an assignment for yourself and Major Casey."

"Yes sir," they both chimed, standing at the same time.

"Good. There are rumors about a Fulcrum cell in Seattle. As soon as Chuck checks out the Intel, I want you both in the air to take them down. By the time you get back, the new base location should be determined.

Xxx

The bluish grey glow from the computer monitor was the only light in room. It cast a ghostly pallor on the face of the man sitting in front of it as his fingers tapped out a series of commands. Satisfied, he leaned back in his chair and scrubbed his hands over his eyes.

An intricate piece of code, but it was much more than that. It was his own version of an insurance policy, one that would protect the holder. The new version of the Intersect would be updated monthly via remote access with an innocent email taking less than a minute to absorb, hidden as a new add-in for Call of Duty.

He owed it to his son. Chuck would never be obsolete and need to be put down. He trusted neither the NSA nor the CIA.

Sitting at his computer, Orion prepared the first update. _Be safe, Chuck. This is the best way I can protect you. I love you._

Xxx

A/N: Hope you enjoy. If not let me know how I can get better.

Thanks to all the readers who left reviews and all who put alerts on this story, I hope you like this final chapter too. I love you, not as much as I love Sarah but close, actually closer that you might think but I love Sarah more. Lol. I know I left it a little open-ended but that was because I might revisit it later.

I want to thank all the readers for sticking with me on this long journey. It's been a blast.

I'm not leaving you, I have about ten stories started, a few chapters or more for each but I can only handle one story at a time. When an idea comes, I write it so I won't forget. I have a shared story in the works with Tynianrex so you can look for that soon. We will be alternating chapters so that will be fun. I have a couple of one-shots too that I hope to post soon.

I have to say this has been the most enjoyable 18 months of my life.

Thank you. Without your kind reviews and encouragement, I would've deleted my first chapter and never bothered you again. Again thank you.


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